Chevron lifts Nigeria force majeure
US energy giant Chevron said today it had lifted a force majeure on oil output from its Escravos terminal in Nigeria a month and a half after saboteurs forced it to shut in around 90,000 barrels per day.
The company said it had lifted the measure, declared on 19 November and which frees it from contractual obligations, with effect from 1 January.
"Production and lifting operations have resumed," it said in a statement.
Saboteurs attacked a main supply pipeline to the Escravos terminal in November in Delta state, one of three main states in Nigeria's restive Niger Delta region.
The vast network of mangrove creeks is home to Africa's biggest oil industry, which is currently producing around 2 million barrels per day of crude.
Attacks by militants who say they are fighting for a fairer share of the natural wealth and by criminal gangs engaged in a lucrative trade in stolen oil have cut Nigeria's crude production by around a fifth since early 2006, Reuters reported.
Chevron operates onshore in Nigeria in a joint venture with state-run oil company the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Chevron holds 40% while NNPC holds 60%.