Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, yesterday, scuttled the hope of early resolution of the current spate of bombings in the Niger Delta, as it did not only reject the window created for dialogue by the Federal Government, but also blew up another Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, crude oil pipeline in Delta State.
President Buhari
This came on a day indications emerged that Nigeria’s crude oil export may drop further in the days ahead, as major refineries across the globe have concluded plans to stop purchase of crude oil from Nigeria due to rising uncertainties about the country meeting up with deliveries.
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The latest attack came as a bombshell to the governors of oil producing states, who met, Tuesday, in Abuja with the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, service chiefs and other functionaries on how to end pipeline attacks in the troubled region.
Government had announced a two-week ceasefire on Monday to build confidence in the militants for negotiation. Militants blow up another Chevron pipeline in Delta
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But in a tweet that blatantly negated government’s goodwill, the militant group said yesterday: “This is to inform the general public that we are not negotiating with any committee. If Federal Government is discussing with any group, they’re doing that on their own.
“At 1:00 a.m today (yesterday), the NDAvengers blew up Well RMP 20 belonging to Chevron, located 20 metres from Dibi flow station in Warri North Local Government Area.”
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A source familiar with the location told Vanguard, at about 5.45 a.m., that the affected crude oil pipeline is between Opia and Dagbolo villages in Warri North.
Confirming the latest attack, a security source said: “Yes, there was an attack this (yesterday) morning by militants on a Chevron facility. “The pipeline had earlier been attacked by militants using the same modus operandi, which is with the use of dynamite. The attack was carried out at about 1:00 a.m.”
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According to the Chevron staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the company will draft a team of technicians to the spot to assess the extent of damage.
A community source, who spoke to Vanguard shortly after a joint team of CNL, soldiers and private security outfit visited the bombed site, said if the plan of the militants had succeeded, the entire Dibi flow station, which had several crude oil and gas components, would have been set ablaze.
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At last Tuesday’s meeting in Abuja, the governors allegedly made a compelling case for the Federal Government to cease military operations in the area, which was heating up the polity, and asked it to find a middle ground with the militants, among other things. Foreign refineries to stop buying Nigeria’s crude oil.
The restive situation in the region may lead to a further drop in crude oil export as major refineries across the globe have concluded plans to stop the purchase of the commodity from Nigeria due to rising uncertainties about the country meeting up with deliveries.
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This is arising from the fact that a number of oil companies in Nigeria had declared force majeure of crude oil export, while a few others had been forced to suspend or cut production as a result of the bombing of oil facilities across the Niger Delta.
According to data obtained from Reuters, four of Nigeria’s oil grades, including the largest stream, Qua Iboe, have been under force majeure over the last one month. Force majeure is a legal clause that allows companies to cancel or delay deliveries due to unforeseen circumstances.
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The report stated that despite the fact that ExxonMobil, which declared force majeure on Qua Iboe in May due to an accident, lifted the declaration last week, the unpredictability is too much for some buyers.
The report further stated that refineries on the United States’ east coast were beginning to turn away from Nigerian crude oil, noting that these same refineries had been on a buying spree for Nigerian crude in recent months that averaged 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April and May.
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As a result, the report said differentials to dated Brent for Qua Iboe, Bonny Light and other grades were under downward pressure, adding that there were several unsold cargoes for June loading.
According to the report, the reduced demand means Nigeria is not benefiting as much as others from a rebound in Brent crude prices at current rate of over $51, which is partly driven by its own oil outages, stating that the reluctance of the refineries to buy Nigeria’s crude oil was limiting the prices.
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Nigeria could get for its oil, even as there was less of it. Specifically, the report stated that India’s HPCL was forced last month to cancel a vessel it chartered to carry two million barrels of West African crude due to the Qua Iboe force majeure, while India’s state-run Indian Oil Corporation Limited, a major buyer of Nigerian grades over the past year, had stated in its recent tenders that it would not take grades under force majeure, with Qua Iboe remaining off the list of the company.
Indonesia’s Pertamina, another frequent buyer, the report added, had also chosen not to buy Nigerian grades in its recent tenders, favouring Congolese Coco, Angolan Girassol and Saharan Blend from Algeria instead.
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The report quoted oil traders as saying that Pertamina had shifted its preferences since the violence and uncertainty escalated, while Senior Vice President of the company, Daniel Purba, said the company was monitoring Nigeria, but noted that the situation was still currently not affecting crude purchasing.
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