A wave of militant attacks has taken more than half a million barrels of Nigerian oil output offline.
According to data collected by Reuters, militant attacks in Nigeria have forced about 700,000 barrels per day of oil output offline compared to a maximum level of about 2.6 million barrels per day.
The data also showed that repair work at the 330,000 barrel per day Forcados pipeline has been extended to August following a militant attack in January.
Outages have caused the operators of the Qua Iboe, Forcados and Brass River pipelines to declare force majeure.
Significant loading delays are now expected for Escravos and Bonny Light crude, Reuters said.
The majority of attacks against Nigerian energy infrastructure this year have been conducted by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).
The group has claimed responsibility for several explosives attacks against pipelines and other energy assets including a Chevron platform that was attacked in May.
The NDA claimed responsibility for an attack against ExxonMobil’s Que Iboe 48-inches crude oil export line earlier this month.
ExxonMobil has denied its line was attacked but declared a force majeure due to a “system anomaly,” Retuers said.
The militant group said on Sunday that it blew up the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s gas pipeline at Nsit-Ibom L.G.A in Akwa Ibom state.
The NDA has said its attacks are part of a campaign to win Niger Delta residents a greater share of the region’s oil revenues.
