Nigerias Q3 oil output down 3% from Q2 to 2.15 million b/d OPEC member Nigerias July-September oil output fell 3% quarter on quarter to an average 2.15 million b/d, National Bureau of Statistics data showed Monday. With oil being Nigerias economic mainstay, the countrys growth rate fell to 6.23% in the third quarter, from 6.54% in the April-June period, the agency said. The oil sector experienced production challenges, it said. Large-scale theft remains a major challenge to oil production and exports, with output disrupted by thieves vandalizing pipelines and other production facilities. On Sunday, Nigerias special military unit in the Niger Delta, the Joint Task Force, said that on Friday it had arrested 10 suspected thieves who had laid siege to oil facilities in Brass River near the Eni-operated Brass Oil Export Terminal, siphoning crude into vessels. The arrest was effected following a tip-off that a vessel christened MV SKYE [was] laden with substances suspected to be stolen crude oil, JTF spokesman Mustapha Anka said. Crude oil theft is a growing problem for Nigeria, with estimates the country loses $6 billion revenue per year. Armed gangs are tapping crude from pipelines either for local refining or to be moved to barges for sale to tankers waiting off the coast. State oil firm Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. and the JTF said last month cases of oil theft had been rising despite government efforts to curb the crime, pumping money into security agencies to battle the thieves. The finance ministry said in October Nigerias gross revenue in September fell 20% month on month to Naira 502 billion ($3.2 billion), partly due to the closure of trunk lines and pipelines at oil export terminals.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 13:23:26 +0000
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