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Nigeria agrees ceasefire with Boko Haram

A person holds up a sign as local clergy, activists and and community leaders protest for the safe return of the 276 abducted schoolgirls outside the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the UN Nigeria has reached a ceasefire agreement with Boko Haram and secured a deal for the release of 219 schoolgirls held by the extremist group for more than six months, military and presidency officials claimed on Friday. No details of the agreement, announced in the capital Abuja, have emerged and Boko Haram has yet to confirm the deal. However, Nigerian newspapers and websites have been reporting that fresh negotiations between presidency and military officials and representatives of the terrorist group have been taking place in recent days. The talks allegedly also involved neighbouring Chad and Cameroon. More On this topic Buhari enters Nigerian presidency race Nigeria claims success against Boko Haram Boko Haram targets Nigerian forces More […]

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Nigeria proposes $78/b oil price benchmark for 2015 budget

Home | News & Analysis | Latest News Headlines | Nigeria proposes $78/b oil price benchmark for 2015 budget Lagos (Platts)–16Oct2014/747 am EDT/1147 GMT Nigeria is proposing an oil price benchmark of $78/barrel for the purposes of revenue calculations in its 2015 budget, according to a government paper seen Thursday, amid concerns over falling oil prices in the international market. The 2015 oil price benchmark, which is slightly higher than the $77.50/b price for the current 2014 budget, was contained in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework sent by President Goodluck Jonathan to parliament. The oil production target was set at 2.278 million b/d, lower than the 2.38 million b/d of oil output assumed for 2014, as the government admitted that crude oil theft still posed a major threat to aims to increase oil production. "Our [oil price] proposal is also driven by the need to be cautious in our […]

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West African oil prospects bright, Tullow says

Poor results do nothing to ding oil optimism over prospects off the coast of Gabon. (File/UPI/Maryam Rahmanian) LONDON, Oct. 10 (UPI) — Though reserves encountered so far off the coast of Gabon are non-commercial, Tullow Oil said Friday it was encouraged by the West African results. Tullow said its drilling partner, Perenco, ran into a 980-foot column of hydrocarbons while drilling into the Arouwe block off the coast of Gabon, but the reserve potential was considered too low to exploit commercially. Nevertheless, Tullow Exploration Direction Angus McCoss said the data taken from the well was useful for future plans . "This is an encouraging result from the pre-salt play, offshore Gabon," he said in a statement. Reserves off the coast of Gabon are similar to those in Brazil in that they’re located beneath a thick layer of submarine salt. Gabon’s geological similarities to Brazil raised hopes for oil production […]

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Angola Delaying Increase in Oil Output to 2017 From 2015

Angola, Africa ’s biggest oil producer after Nigeria, plans to increase output to 2 million barrels a day by 2017, according to Finance Minister Armando Manuel. That would be two years behind an earlier target. Angola will budget next year for oil prices from $88 to $92 a barrel, said Manuel, who is urging the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to take steps to avoid more declines. Brent is down 16 percent this year in London, the most since a 51 percent drop in 2008. Manuel’s comments in an interview in Washington D.C. yesterday indicate a delay in meeting a target expressed repeatedly by Petroleum Minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos. He has said the goal of 2 million barrels a day will be reached in 2015, helped by projects including Eni SpA’s West Hub in Block 15/06, which is scheduled to begin this year. “Although we face a […]

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Ebola outbreak disrupts Exxon’s oil drilling

EMAIL Share this image:sharetweetemail AP The Ebola outbreak in Africa is threatening Exxon Mobil’s (XOM) activities in the region, including plans to drill for oil there. Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson said during a news conference it’s having second thoughts about plans to start offshore drilling in some areas in West Africa due to concerns . The company has also banning business travel by employees to areas of the world affected by the disease. Shares of Exxon are down 7 cents, or 0.08%, to $92.80. Africa is home to 20% of Exxon’s crude oil developed proved reserves and 3% of natural gas. Meanwhile, 20% of Exxon’s undeveloped proved oil reserves are in Africa. There are not many large U.S. companies with significant activity in the sub-Saharan Africa region. There are just seven companies disclosing notable geographic locations in the region, says S&P Capital IQ including: Company Ticker Accenture ACN American […]

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Victim of shale revolution, Nigeria stops exporting oil to US

Nigeria has become the first country to completely stop selling oil to the US due to the impact of the shale revolution – an astounding reversal as the African nation was only four years ago one of the top-5 oil suppliers to America. According to the US Department of Energy, Nigeria did not export a single barrel of crude to US-based refiners in July for the first time since records start in 1973. Preliminary data suggest the trend continued in August and September. Many oil producers have seen their exports to the US drop as domestic production rises thanks to the use of new technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. But Nigeria is the first to fully stop exporting crude. At its peak in February 2006, the US imported 1.3m b/d from Nigeria – equal to roughly one super-tanker the size of the Exxon Valdez […]

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Nigerian Oil Unions Halt Strike After Pension Dispute

Nigeria’s oil unions called off a four-day strike, averting a threat to exports from a nation whose shipments equate to about 2 percent of global demand. The Pengassan union that represents managers and blue-collar Nupeng oil union suspended industrial action after talks with Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke and state-owned Nigeria National Petroleum Corp. “The strike action embarked upon by Nupeng and Pengassan is hereby suspended,” according to a joint e-mailed statement today by the minister, labor leaders and NNPC. The strike started on Sept. 16 in a dispute over pensions and unions representing workers at NNPC. Nigeria is the continent’s largest oil producer and relies on the commodity for more than 70 percent of government revenue and 95 percent of foreign-exchange income. The West African nation pumped 2.3 million barrels a day of oil in August, the most since 2006, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “The strike didn’t […]

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Nigeria’s Power Woes Slow to Abate After Privatization

Award-winning Nigerian sculptor Olu Amoda took eight months to complete The Sunflower, a giant artwork of steel and metal spoons, in his studio in Lagos, Africa ’s biggest city, because of electricity shortages. Amoda could have finished the piece in several weeks if he lived in a country with a steady power supply, such as the U.S., where he has presented works at the New York Museum of Art and Design. But he lives in Nigeria , which produces a 10th of the amount generated in South Africa even though its population of 170 million is more than three times larger. Blackouts are a daily occurrence. “In some places people ask ‘how’s the weather’,” he said. “Here my friends ask, ‘how is electricity in your area’.” While the government last year sold its power distribution monopoly and the hydro- and natural gas-powered plants it ran to attract investment needed […]

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