Nigeria Niger Delta Burns: Bonga and Escravos oil fields shut.
June 21st, 2008 | Published in Energy, Governance, Nigeria, Oil | 2 Comments
Nigeria crude oil production may decline by as much as 30% as the oil sector suffered two devastating blows on the Bonga and Escravos oilfields. The attacks occurred within the last seven days.
Royal Dutch Shell operates the floating Bonga offshore facility that produces about 200,000 barrels per day. Chevron produces 120,000 barrels per day from the Escravos oilfield. The output from the two oil fields is about 20-30% of Nigeria’s total crude oil production, which was about two milion barrels per day before the attacks.
The attack on the Bonga facility, located some 65 miles from land, marks a new era of Niger Delta militancy: It is the first offshore location attacked.
The attacks fields precedes the government plans for the Niger-Delta summit, an exercise designed to find lasting solution to a crisis that has become tougher and more complicated.
Whatever plans president Yar’Adua has for the Niger-Delta, now is the time to fast-track such and ensure it works. The days for mouthing empty policy statements are over, likewise is the era of scoring quick ceasefires and cash settlements.
President Yar’Adua has his job cut out for him, and his administration will now be judged on one yardstick: His ability to not only contain the insurgency, but build an environment in the Niger-Delta that makes militant violence unnecessary and unprofitable.
Yar’Adua and advisers must be focused on one end point: A fail-proof workable solution that addresses the root causes of the problems in the Niger Delta once and for all. This is the only solution.
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:57 pm (#)
I read the Niger-Delta folks are fleeing from their homes following the call for military clamp-down by the president.
There is very little room for military solution in this conflict, we need to stopped fooling ourselves!
June 27th, 2008 at 2:36 pm (#)
Whats up Imnakoya?
Great article, Man. Um, i agree with Idowu that military response will only exacerbate the problem.
Yar’Adua though seems to adopt a sort of relaxed approach. So I am not expecting him to do anything new within the near future. Let’s hope that I am wrong though.
But in the Delta it almost seems to be a near zero sum game where either the community inhabiting the Delta benefit or the big oil companies do.
How do you see it, is there a balanced medium? or a solution that would 1st and foremost address the environmental and economic needs of the inhabitants and then also be amenable to big oil companies? I believe that there must be but it will take lots of salesmanship on the part of whoever administers negotiations.