Problemi in Venezuela problemi in Iraq e problemi in Nigeria.... sta per arrivare un nuovo storno?
27 Sep 2004 15:53 UPDATE 2-Shell Nigeria output cut as troops fight rebels
(Updates with Shell official comment in paragraph 7)
By Tom Ashby
LAGOS, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch/Shell Group <RD.AS> <SHEL.L> has lost a small volume of Nigerian oil output due to security restrictions in the Niger delta where militants are fighting government troops, a senior industry source told Reuters on Monday.
It was the first sign that escalating conflict in the oil-rich delta was hitting output, although the source said Shell, Nigeria's top oil producing company, is still pumping almost one million barrels per day, in line with average output levels earlier this year.
But the 30,000-40,000 bpd disruption could worsen if military operations continue, he added.
"There is no indication that Shell people or facilities are targeted but we recognise that as the crack-down on militants continues, the waterways will be unsafe," the source said.
"Shell is taking precautionary measures and people are not going on the waterways as if things are usual. That means the company's responsiveness is not as it is normally and we probably have incurred a loss of about 30,000-40,000 bpd."
"If the military operations continue we could see a degeneration," he added.
The Anglo-Dutch company issued an official statement saying that production had not been affected, although the situation remained tense in the creeks around Port Harcourt, where about half of the 2.3 million bpd from OPEC's fifth largest producer, is pumped. Shell last week evacuated 235 non-essential staff from two oilfields as troops launched raids on nearby communities to track down the militants.
FIGHTING SPREADS
Militant leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari told Reuters on Sunday that he intended to extend the fighting across the whole Niger delta, where all the country's oil is produced, to press for political reforms or gain sovereignty.
His Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force would target Italian oil company Agip, a unit of ENI <ENI.MI>, he added, accusing the company of loaning its helicopters to the military to spy on rebel camps. Agip denied the accusation.
Companies fear a repeat of last year's uprising by members of the Ijaw tribe, who are a majority in the delta, which forced companies briefly to shut 40 percent of the country's output.
Oil prices raced higher on Monday with crude futures trading in New York hitting a fresh record high of $49.74 a barrel.
Shell's loss comes on the heels of a 10 percent drop in overall Nigerian output last month to protect ageing oil facilities after several months of surge production.
Presidential Adviser on Petroleum Edmund Daukoru told Reuters that Nigeria had reduced supply to base capacity of 2.25 million bpd.
Nigeria had been pumping at full capacity of 2.5 million bpd until July to take advantage of record high oil prices, but analysts believe the output surge took a heavy toll on ageing oil infrastructure and reservoirs.
"The production base is 2.25 million bpd. That is about where we are now," Daukoru said.
"From 2.25 to 2.5 million is integrity related. It is on and off. It could be old infrastructure, high water course and to some extent funding priorities."
Daukoru said the government has been ploughing money into new offshore fields, such as Shell's Bonga due to begin production next year, instead of spending it on the older onshore ones.