Fears ease over impact of strike on Nigerian crude

Reuters

6 January 2012

Fears ease over impact of strike on Nigerian crude

ABUJA (Reuters) - Strikes and protests across Nigeria against a hike in fuel prices are unlikely to disrupt oil output in Africa's biggest exporter, industry players said, further calming supply fears after Royal Dutch Shell restarted two large fields.

But a force majeure on Bonny Light crude oil exports on Thursday underscored the fragility of production in Nigeria, a key oil supplier to the U.S. and Europe.

Nigerian trade unions threatened on Wednesday to call a national strike starting on Monday, which they said would shut down large parts of the country's oil industry, if the government failed to restore a fuel subsidy.

Protests have already swept across the country, from the commercial capital Lagos in the south to Kano in the north.

Police used tear gas to disperse Kano protesters on Thursday, witnesses said, after they had camped out in the central square overnight.

The government said it would not budge on the subsidy, which it removed on Sunday as part of sweeping economic reforms. That set the scene for a showdown with unions and protesters angered by a sharp rise in fuel prices.

The unions promised to shut down "all offices, oil production centres, air and sea ports, fuel stations, markets, banks, among others".

But oil industry players told Reuters on Thursday there would probably be minimal disruption to facilities.