Lagos — Insecurity and the cost of doing business are driving more oil firms out of Nigeria, along with 15,000 jobs being relocated to Angola and other countries in the Gulf of Guinea.

The firms "are reluctantly leaving Nigeria, a country with vast resources and business potential where they already have facilities and installations worth billions of Dollars for a relatively new ground," an official of one of the companies confided on Monday.

But a source said the government has directed the Ministry of Niger Delta to calm frayed nerves.

Besides, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have met with federal lawmakers on the matter.

In the mean time, Globestar penultimate week withdrew from Warri after armed youths invaded its premises and killed its security adviser.

The company has a contract worth $50 million to fabricate, assembly and test eight manifolds, and support structures, eight suction piles, 23 well jumpers and other subsea structures for Total's Usan oil field located offshore on behalf of Cameroon Offshore Systems Nigeria.

Foster-Wheeler, a conglomerate based in the United States, with Foster Wheeler Energy and Foster Wheeler Nigeria as subsidiaries, has also withdrawn from the Niger Delta.

Herrieme and its counterpart from South African, Grinaker, have also left. Both had employment capacity of over 15,000.

NUPENG President, Peter Akpatason, lamented on Monday that "it is a major setback for the economy, a major setback for the budget, a major setback for the foreign reserves, and a major set back for the Nigerian Project.

"We, NUPENG and PENGASSAN, have met with the National Assembly on this matter and our demand was that the government should wake up from its deep slumber on this matter.

"The government is no doubt in deep slumber while the crisis is assuming a frightening dimension, and our strong belief is that the government should arrest the escalation, not just because it is leading to mass job losses, it is threatening the sustainability of the Nigeria Project."