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Nigerian Oil Attacks Cost Shell 30,000 Barrels Per Day

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 May 2008, 09:00 CDT

The recent incessant attacks on its oil facilities in Nigeria and crude oil thefts have resulted in the loss of close to 30,000 barrels of crude oil per day for Shell Petroleum Development Company.

The company, which shares almost half of the country's 2.1 million barrels of daily oil output, has reportedly seen an increase in the number of attacks by the volatile Niger Delta militant groups, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in particular.

MEND is reported to have sabotaged several of Shell's supply pipelines. This, according to Chidi Izuwah, a spokesperson for Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), is reportedly costing the company E2.24 million in revenue loss per day. MEND, which emerged in 2006, asking for a greater share of Nigeria's oil revenue for the producer region, is claimed to have held expatriate oil workers as hostages.

The unrest has percolated the country and affected global oil prices, helping them reach a record $126 per barrel. It has also forced SPDC to cut down production.

According to The Nigerian Sunday Tribune, the company has sought the help of security agencies, individuals, oil-producing communities and other stakeholders in the oil business and has asked them to tighten their security around oil facilities in the country.

Source: Datamonitor

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