ExxonMobil Shuts Down 90% Of Nigerian Production In Face Of Strike - Bloomberg

[hatrack]

EDIT

Gloria Essien-Danner, a spokeswoman for Exxon's Nigeria unit, said the company began an ``orderly shut in of production.'' She declined to say how much production was affected by the action.

About 90 percent of Exxon's Nigerian output of about 850,000 barrels a day is halted, said Olusola George-Olumoroti, chairman of the branch of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, or Pengassan, that's taking action against Exxon. He expects all the company's production to be halted by the end of the day.

EDIT/END

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20602099&sid=a7zKK7wl9_k0&refer=energy

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. And this weekend look for (more) big jumps in price at the pump...?

Oil rises to $118 on Nigeria output cut
Fri 25 Apr 2008, 13:09 GMT

By Randy Fabi

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose to nearly $118 a barrel on Friday as strikes by workers caused major supply disruptions in Nigeria and the North Sea.

U.S. crude futures rose $1.89 cents to $117.95 a barrel by 1320 GMT, after falling $2.24 the previous session.

London Brent crude traded $1.73 higher at $116.07 a barrel.

A strike by Nigerian workers at Exxon Mobil has forced the company to shut down some 200,000 barrels per day of crude oil output, a senior union official said.

more at link
http://africa.reuters.com/business/news/usnBAN550941.html

And we still get to blame the oil price rise on Bush, too

Oil jumps past $119 on U.S.-Iran tensions
Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:07pm EDT


By Randy Fabi

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil jumped more than $3 to over $119 a barrel on Friday on Nigerian and North Sea supply disruptions and rising tensions between the United States and Iran.

U.S. crude futures surged $3.44 to $119.50 a barrel by 1248 p.m. EDT (1648 GMT), near the all-time peak of $119.90 reached on Tuesday.

London Brent crude traded $3.12 higher at $117.46 a barrel, after hitting a new record of $117.56 earlier.

A cargo ship hired by the U.S. military fired warning shots at boats suspected to be Iranian, the U.S. Navy said on Friday, underscoring tension in the Gulf as the Pentagon sharpened its warnings to Tehran.

Iran denied there had been any confrontation between its forces and a U.S. ship in the Gulf, Iranian media reported.

Tensions between Washington and the OPEC nation last year helped send oil to then record highs. Crude prices have surged more than five-fold since 2002 as supplies struggle to keep pace with rising demand in emerging economies such as China.

Oil also found support on Friday from Nigerian production lost due to a workers strike and rebel attacks and disruptions caused by a planned refinery strike in Scotland.

"You have everything coming together and that's lifting us off again," said Tom Bentz, analyst for BNP Paribas Commodity Futures in New York.

more at link
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSSYD3274320080425