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Militants’ threat to attack oil facilities, what could Nigeria lose?

Nigerian militants have threatened to attack off-shore oil facilities within days, raising fears of a repeat of 2016 wave of violence that further pushed the Nation’s economy into recession.

The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), behind many of the 2016 attacks, reveals its planned assaults after giving up on talks to give its South Southern region a greater share of the oil revenue it produced.

“This round of attacks will be the most deadly and will be targeting the deep sea operations of the multinationals,” the group said.

According to the group, its targets, in the seas off the Swampland Delta region, would include the Bonga Platform and the Agbami, EA and Akpo fields, as well as the Nigerian oil company, Brittania-U.

Shell operates the Bonga and EA fields, while Chevron is the operator of Agbami. Akpo. Stakeholders include Total, China’s CNOOC, Brazil’s Petrobras and Nigeria’s Sapetro.

NDA agreed to a ceasefire in August 2016, a development that helped pull Nigeria back out of recession in the second quarter of last year but called off the truce in November last Year.

Any resumption of attacks could pile pressure on Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari also facing separatist groups in the South East, Insurgency in the Northeast and elections in 2019, although he is yet to formally declare his intention to run.

The Government has been holding talks to address grievances over poverty and oil pollution in the Delta for more than a year but community groups say no progress has been made.

The militant group said talks “have not achieved any meaningful results”.

“While promising a brutal outpour of our wrath, which shall shake the coffers of the failed Nigerian nation, our demand unambiguously, is for the Government to restructure this country,” the group added.

The Niger Delta Avengers bombed the Forcados sub-sea pipeline in 2016using divers. No substantial attacks have been carried out by any groups in the Delta region since January 2017.

Fatal losses

The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, (NPDC), lost over N1.5 trillion due to attacks on its facilities in 2016,

”In 2016, January to date for example, NPDC alone recorded 59 security incidents resulting in crude production shut down/deferment and revenue loss of over N1.5 trillion.”

According to the Minister of State for Petroleum resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria lost about 54% of its daily oil production and estimated revenue lost at $100 million owing to the spate of attacks by militants.

“The country’s situation was worsened by the spate of militant attacks and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta, resulting in the country losing over 54 per cent of its daily oil production, from about 2.2 million barrels to about 1.2 million barrels,” said Dr Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.

 “When you have that side by side with the fact that oil prices also declined by 60% over the last one and half years, you will see the massive problem that President Muhammadu Buhari has faced and he has to deal with over this period.

“This is a problem that has consistently been there, even before the Government of President Obasanjo. It is a problem that seems to never have a solution in sight.”

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