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Nigeria: Govt Not Comfortable With Angola's Lead in Oil Sector - President
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Leadership (Abuja)
22 May 2008
Posted to the web 22 May 2008
Ese Awhotu
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has expressed displeasure with the recent leapfrogging of Nigeria by Angola which assumed Nigeria's position as number one oil producing nation in Africa, a position Nigeria has maintained since 1978.
A senior official in the presidency told LEADERSHIP recently that the presidency is highly disturbed by the development, saying that "it is unfortunate that Angola a new entrant into the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has over taken the country in crude oil production as a result of avoidable circumstances".
Angola overtook Nigeria as Africa's largest oil producing nation in April, according to a platts survey. The swift change in position has been attributed to the continued unrest and insecurity in the Niger Delta region that houses the oil wealth of the nation. The region has over the years witnessed untold militant attacks over neglect and underdevelopment of the area, while successive governments have made efforts at tackling the problem, situation continues to take new dimensions.
According to OPEC statistics in April, Angola reached a production rate of 1.92 million barrels per day (bpd), slightly below its potential of 1.93 million bpd, according to the OPEC. Nigeria produced 1.88 million bpd in April, three-quarters of what OPEC estimates to Nigeria's production capacity of 2.5 million bpd, Angola, one of OPEC's newest members, has gradually increased its production with new offshore oilfields, while Nigeria has been plagued by persistent supply disruptions.
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Angola's new position has been for long anticipated by analysts in the oil sector and they sited the unrest in the Niger Delta region and the recent long strike action by oil workers at Exxon Mobil under the auspices of PENGASSAN as potential factors.
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