Oil Firms Lose N1.3billion Daily To Militant Attacks On Production Facilities

A combined loss of 140,000 barrels of crude per day, translating to the loss of about N1.3 billion daily, at an estimated price of $48 per barrel, amounting to $6.72 million or N1.3billion has been recorded as a result of attacks by Niger Delta militants on facilities operated by Eni and Aiteo oil firms.

The attacks, believed to be carried out by the militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers,have resulted in huge loss from their oilfields in Bayelsa State, according to Eni and Aiteo.

Eni, the Italian energy firm and parent company of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), said its production was cut by 65,000 barrels per day following Friday’s attack on its pipeline in Bayelsa.

Earlier attacks in the oilfield on May 18 and 24 had resulted in a shutdown of some 5,200 barrels of the company’s production.

An Eni spokesperson confirmed the development in an email to newsmen on Sunday, June 5.

“The total deferred production due to the attack is 65,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily. I can confirm that. There is no further impact on production, since all production from the swamp area had already been stopped days ago,” the email from Eni’s media relations unit said.

Similarly, Aiteo, operator of the Nembe Creek Trunk Line, said the line was shut after it came under attack on May 28 by militants believed to be members of the Niger Delta Avengers. The line conveys crude to Bonny export terminal.

The company’s spokesperson, Shola Omole, disclosed that about 75,000 barrels daily production was deferred as the line remained shut.

Although the report could not obtain figures from Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), the oil firm had placed its oil exports from Bonny export terminal under force majeure.

SPDC, which in 2014 sold the 100km Nembe Creek Trunk Line to Aiteo, still relies on the line to lift crude produced from onshore oilfields in Bayelsa State to the Bonny Terminal in Rivers State.