He said the cleanup “cannot happen overnight” but he hoped the government, oil firms and locals could work together to reduce pollution.
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It said its activities were in line with its promise to bring oil production in Nigeria down to zero.
The Niger Delta Avengers said it attacked the Forcados pipeline again, having told Shell not to fix it – the pipeline was attacked in February, resulting in Shell declaring force majeure on exports of Forcados crude.
“What I know they have done, which some of us are involved in doing by virtue of coming from that zone and by virtue of working with them, is been telling our people that the economy of the people is bleeding and the nation is hemorrhaging and that we can not, given the low price of oil, go on certain actions that will further reduce the earnings of Nigeria”.
Nigeria’s oil minister said in April that repairs to the Forcados pipeline, controlled by Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited, would be completed in June.
Force Majeure is a term that suspends supply obligations to customers in the event of unforeseen circumstance.
ENI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hours earlier, the group said it blew up the Ogboinbiri-Tebidaba and Clough creek-Tebidaba pipelines in Bayelsa and a Shell forcados export pipeline.
Three grades of Nigeria’s oil – Forcados, Brass River and Bonny Light – are under force majeure, while ExxonMobil lifted force majeure on Qua Iboe, the country’s largest export stream, on Friday.
While speaking with newsmen, Arkwright said though, there is the need to protect the investments, not just the British companies and worldwide companies operating there, but also Nigerian companies from acts of criminality going – on in the region, the military should tread softly.
As a good Nigerian elder, Obasanjo is probably just checking in to say “Baba have you swallowed your Paracetamol today?”.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari canceled at the last minute a visit planned for Thursday to the Delta, source of most of Nigeria’s crude.
The Avengers have accused Buhari, a Muslim from northern Nigeria, of ignoring the problems of the predominantly Christian Delta.
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President Buhari took over power from Goodluck Jonathan on May 29 and has already spent one year in office.
