LAGOS (AFP) — US oil group Chevron on Thursday suspended export contracts on much of its Nigerian production after a militant attack on a key pipeline.
Chevron said it was declaring "force majeure" until December 31 following the attack last Friday on the pipeline which carries supplies to its Escravos terminal in the Niger Delta.
A company spokesman in Lagos said about 90,000 barrels of oil a day had been affected. "Repair plans are being prepared and it would be premature to estimate completion time," the spokesman said.
Militant attacks on oil pipelines, other facilities and workers since January 2006 have cut Nigeria's daily production by more than one quarter -- falling from about 2.6 million barrels to about two million now.
According to OPEC figures, Angola has overtaken Nigeria and is now Africa's biggest oil producer.
Falling international oil prices have added to the sense of crisis in the Nigerian industry.
No group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack on Chevron. Armed militants in the Delta are demanding a greater share of oil revenues for local people and have stepped up attacks in recent months.
In June, militants blew up the Abiteye-Olero pipeline, forcing Chevron to cut around 120,000 barrels per day for nearly a month. On November 7, armed men attacked Chevron's Robert-Kiri flow station, killing a Nigerian navy rating.
Last week, Anglo-Dutch group Royal Dutch Shell said it had contained a spill caused by sabotage on its Adibawa delivery line in the southern Bayelsa state.
Oil prices dropped on Thursday, with Brent crude striking its lowest level for three and a half years at 50.48 dollars a barrel in London as traders anticipate a protracted slump in energy demand.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), light sweet crude for December delivery slipped 1.12 dollars to 52.50 dollars a barrel -- the lowest level since January 2007.
Oil prices have plunged almost two-thirds since striking record highs of above 147 dollars in July as a global economic slowdown dents world energy demand.
Nigeria, a member of OPEC which pumps about 40 percent of global crude, relies on oil for about 99 percent of its export earnings and about 85 percent of government revenues, according to the World Bank.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, bases its budget on a benchmark oil price which for 2009 has been set at 45 dollars a barrel, down from 59 dollars this year.
In recent years, oil has only contributed about 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) due to troubles in the Niger Delta.
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