Agip shuts Bayelsa gas pipeline over attack

An attack on a gas pipeline at an oilfield operated by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company at Ogbembiri in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State has compelled the oil giant to shut production on the line.

The company has subsequently deferred the production of 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent of its equity share of production in the field run with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in a joint venture.

The attack by yet-to-be-identified gunmen reportedly occurred on Sunday night around 9pm.

 A spokesperson of Eni, the parent company of NAOC, who confirmed the development in a statement on Wednesday, said some 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent of its equity share of production were affected.

“I can confirm the sabotage to that pipeline. The production impacted is approximately 1,000 boed of Eni’s equity,” the spokesperson, who preferred to be anonymous, stated.

Sources said that the line had been blown up at least 13 times in the last one month.

Eni could not say how long it would take to fix the damaged gas pipeline.

The gunmen reportedly stormed the community at about 9pm on May 15, 2016, traced the pipeline and ruptured it at a point that was previously repaired after the last attack.

The pipeline is a major gas supply line to power plants passing through Tumor community in Bomadi, Delta State; as well as Ogbuasiri in Ekeremor and Ogbembiri in Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa State.

A wave of attacks in the Niger Delta, where many complain of poverty despite sitting on much of Nigeria’s oil wealth, has cut oil output to 1.4 million from 2.2 million barrels per day.

“It is not clear if it is connected to militant activities or ordinary vandals or people paid by contractors to do so in order to get repair contracts,” said Eric Omare, a spokesman for the Ijaw Youth Council, an umbrella organisation of youth groups in the southern region.

A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers, which says it wants a greater share of oil profits and independence for the swampy region, has claimed responsibility for several attacks. But no one or group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Agip facility.

Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil has ramped up production of Nigeria’s Qua Iboe crude oil just over a week after pipeline damage forced it to slow output, traders said on Wednesday.

The company cut production, and declared force majeure on exports, after a drilling rig, experiencing mechanical difficulties, damaged the pipeline it jointly owns with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Reuters reported that traders said the company began increasing output of Nigeria’s largest crude oil stream earlier this week, with flows by Tuesday reaching 213,000 bpd, with a target of 250,000 bpd by Wednesday.

May exports were intended to reach 306,000 bpd after one cargo was deferred from the initial loading programme. Traders said the force majeure was still in place.