Nigeria’s Oil Industry Is Under Barrage From The Niger Delta Avengers.

Two of Africa’s largest oil-producing nations have seen disruptive changes in the second quarter for this year – one for the good and one that ramps up offshore operational risks. Nigeria’s oil industry is under barrage from militant activists, named as the Niger Delta Avengers. This group has attacked multiple pipelines and oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta, cutting off an increasing amount of crude from the nation’s oil export terminals and supply centres.
Almost every oil company operating in the area has been impacted, including Shell, Eni and Chevron. The militants have attacked pipelines leading to the Brass terminal, Shell’s Forcados export pipeline and Chevron’s Escravos terminal. They have even threatened to take the fight to offshore facilities and to sink oil tankers, although this has not yet led to actual attacks. However, the group has shown it is capable of attacking subsea pipelines close to shore with the damage to the Forcados export pipeline. In the last decade, another militant uprising in the Niger Delta led to attacks on offshore installations and vessels, which means it could happen this time.
Niger Delta Avengers’ stated goal is to “free the people of the Niger Delta from environmental pollution, slavery and oppression”. It intends to do this by reducing Nigeria’s oil production to zero through violence. So far, the country’s output has plummeted from 2.2 million barrels per day (b/d) to around 1.5 million b/d. The militant group has rejected calls for dialogue with the government and oil companies in the area. It has also warned oil companies not to repair damaged infrastructure or attempt to restore oil production or exports. Therefore, the militant attacks and threats are expected to last well into the second half of this year, at least.
In Angola, there has been a complete change in management of state oil company Sonangol, with the country’s president José Eduardo dos Santos appointing his own billionaire daughter Isabel as the new chief executive. The move follows the firing of Sonangol’s existing board. Ms dos Santos said she wanted to increase the revenue, efficiency and transparency of the company and to implement governance rules similar to the international standards. State media reported that experts from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Boston Consulting Group had been appointed to assist in changing the national oil company. Sonangol not only holds the concessions to offshore blocks, it is also a partner in many offshore projects.
With so much disruption in Nigeria, it is not surprising that recent offshore vessel charter awards and operational news has come from outside these nations. For example, Tullow Oil chartered 2010-built anchor handler UOS Explorer to support its production operations in Ghana. Brokers said the 16,000 bhp vessel was hired for five months to support remedial and production work on the Jubilee field.
Transocean has hired 18,355 bhp anchor-handling tug/supply (AHTS) vessel ER Vittoria for a cargo run from one of its drillships in Angola to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. The DP2 vessel has a clear deck area of 660m². Brokers also reported that accommodation vessel Jascon 28 was towed from Brazil to the Gulf of Guinea by 2012-built 5,150 bhp anchor-handling tug Jascon 57. Anchor handler Pacific Brigand is expected to leave the Gulf after it was sold by Swire Pacific. The 1998-built, 12,240 bhp vessel was sold in Douala, Cameroon, to Egypt-based Red Sea International.
Exploration continues elsewhere offshore West Africa, with Cairn Energy increasing reserves offshore Senegal and Repsol surveying offshore Morocco. Polarcus recently said it would undertake a broadband 3D seismic survey in the third quarter of this year for the Spanish oil company.   GUARDIAN