Exxon-Mobil force majeure - Nigeria

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Exxon-Mobil declares force majeure on Nigeria NGL

By KERM YERMAN

Exxon-Mobil (XOM-N) has declared force majeure on liftings of natural gas liquids (NGLs) from its Bonny Island plant in southern Nigeria, a company official said on Friday.

Exxon-Mobil's NGL production was suspended temporarily on Wednesday due to essential repair work on an offshore flare line in the Oso field, the source said.

The force majeure is expected to last for about a week, he added. The NGL plant is currently processing about 40,000 to 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) of natural gas.

There has been no significant effect on some 100,000 bpd production of condensates from the Oso field.

The Oso project is a joint venture between Exxon-Mobil and state run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. The U.S. major has a 51 percent stake in the venture.

From: www.canoe.ca/MoneyOil/mw_oilnews12.html

-- Y2kObserver (Y2kObserver@nowhere.com), January 29, 2000

Answers

After Venzuala, was there a problem like in the Netherlands? Now this?

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), January 29, 2000.

I'm starting to think the list of countries WITHOUT drilling/refinery problems is shorter than the list with...

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), January 29, 2000.

Ok, now how many cases of "Force Majeure" does this make since the rollover? 1. Venezuela 2.??I know there is another one or two 3. Nigeria wonder how many more they will have?

-- formerly (formerly@nowhere.zzz), January 29, 2000.

I seem to recall BP declaring same in a Singapore facility. Correct me if I am wrong. Regards,

-- (He Who) Rolls with Punches (JoeZi@aol.com), January 29, 2000.

I need some real perspective on this issue: Does anyone KNOW if calling a force majeure is relatively common practice in the oil industry, or is it strictly reserved for only the most dire circumstances?

-- Yan (no@no.no), January 29, 2000.


For educational purposes only. This was posted previously but is worth reading again.

STRATFOR.COM Global Intelligence Update January 5, 2000

Nigeria-Cameroon Border Dispute Heats Up

Summary

Part of Nigeria's air force was placed on maximum alert Jan. 3, reportedly because France is building a military base in a town near the Bakassi peninsula. Nigeria and French-allied Cameroon have long contested the oil-rich peninsula. The dispute is currently being arbitrated in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Despite a 1996 ICJ ruling to refrain from military activities until a final court decision is reached, Nigeria and Cameroon seem to be re-igniting the issue while France fuels the fire. The issue has shifted from one of legality to one of securing oil interests at any cost. It is becoming apparent that Nigeria, Cameroon and France will not be satisfied with a court ruling but rather favor a military solution to the peninsula debate.

Analysis

The Nigerian air force (NAF), based on the eastern flank of the Tactical Air Command in the cities of Yola and Maiduguri, was placed on maximum alert Jan. 3, reported the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard. The Nigerian army's armored division in Maiduguri was also placed on alert. The National Security Council, headed by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, reportedly directed the immediate reactivation and upgrading of the two NAF bases in Yola and Maiduguri. According to the report, the bases, which house the air force assault helicopter squadron, were ordered to be ready by the end of the month.

Vanguard defense sources said that the alert followed Nigeria's discovery that France was building a military base in Gagura, a town in Cameroon located near the disputed peninsula border with Nigeria. The Bakassi peninsula is a 400 square mile area that juts out into the Gulf of Guinea and is rich in oil reserves. According to the report, the French base is nearly completed and has facilities for deploying military aircraft. Vanguard's sources said the decision to build the base might be connected with Cameroon's ambition to control the peninsula by any means. It is likely that France - a strong ally since Cameroon's independence - has interests in the peninsula's oil. Both countries lay claim to the area, which has a Nigerian majority population.

The dispute over this peninsula dates back to the 19th century when Western colonial powers divided Africa. Britain and Germany failed to move the dividing line between what is now Nigeria and Cameroon far enough out into the Gulf of Guinea, which left the Bakassi peninsula in limbo. A 1913 agreement would have ceded Bakassi from British-colonized Nigeria to the German protectorate of Kamerun, but Britain and Germany went to war in 1914. After Germany's WWI defeat, Cameroon was divided between the British and the French but the peninsula issue remained unresolved. An agreement similar to the one in 1913 was reportedly drawn up in 1975 as a reward to Cameroon for its neutrality during the Nigerian civil war in 1967-70. However, Nigeria now claims that any such document is null and void because it was never ratified before Nigerian authorities were toppled in a 1975 military coup.

Since 1975, border tension has continued. Several bloody clashes have left casualties on both sides, igniting public outrage. Nigerian military authorities in 1993-94 often accused Cameroon paramilitaries of burning down villages and displacing thousands of ethnic Nigerians. Full armed conflict broke out in 1994, and Cameroon brought a case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in March of that year.

While the legal issue is tied up in the ICJ, the real issues are beginning to emerge. France cooperates militarily with Cameroon. The two have a defense agreement, and France continues to remain active in Africa ( http://www.stratfor.com/services/giu/111497.asp ). It now appears that Paris also has oil interests in the peninsula and is willing to protect them militarily. In July 1999, Africa News reported that Nigerian soldiers had sent letters to their government complaining about deplorable living conditions while stationed on the peninsula. In these letters, the soldiers also reported that some 30 oil rigs drilled on a daily basis between East Atabong, a Nigerian camp, and Edima Abasi, where Cameroon paramilitaries are stationed. The soldiers reported that the French oil consortium ELF is responsible not only for the oil drilling, but also for copious funding to maintain the Cameroon paramilitaries.

If Cameroon, and by extension France, is eager to solve the dispute militarily, Nigeria will likely oblige. After all, Abuja has not fared well in the legal battle occurring in the ICJ. When Cameroon took the case to the ICJ, Nigeria challenged the court's authority to hear the case. The court ruled that it did have jurisdiction. In November 1998, Nigeria then filed an appeal requesting an interpretation of the judgment. The ICJ declared that request "inadmissible" in March 1999. The international tribunal will eventually come to a ruling based on legality and fairness, rather than Nigerian and French oil interests. An ICJ solution is unlikely to benefit any party involved, leaving military action the optimal strategic solution.

(c) 2000, Stratfor, Inc.

-- PA Engineer (PA Engineer@longtimelurker.com), January 29, 2000.


Yan, you may wanna page downstreamer or visit his board for that answer.

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), January 30, 2000.

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