Nigeria's oil minister says 550,000 b/d remains shut in

Nigeria's oil minister says 550,000 b/d remains shut in

Abuja (Platts)--3Apr2006

Nigerian Oil Minister Edmund Daukoru Monday said 550,000 b/d of Nigeria's
2.5-mil b/d remains shut after militants carried out a spate of attacks on
Shell's Forcados export terminal and sabotaged two pipelines last month.
"Before we were at 625,000 b/d but Agip came back with 75,000 b/d so we
are down at 550,000 b/d," Daukoru said in Nigeria's federal capital, Abuja.
While there are no indications as to when Shell might restore Forcados
production, Daukoru said he expects the company's 115,000 b/d EA shallow-water
field to resume within days. "I spoke with Shell's managing director Basil
Omiyi three days ago and he assured me that EA should be back," Daukoru told
reporters in Abuja.
Shell was not available for comment.
The company March 27 welcomed the release of three oilmen who had been
held hostage for over a month but said that it had no plans to resume
production until it could guarantee the safety of staff in the area.
The militants have vowed not to allow a resumption of oil production
until the government meets a set of demands, including the release of ethnic
Ijaw leaders Asari Dokubo and Diepreye Alamieyeseigha as well as the payment
of $1.5 billion compensation by Shell to Ijaw communities for environmental
pollution.
Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo will meet leaders and opinion
formers from the Delta Wednesday to find a way out of the latest crisis.

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