Nigeria is currently losing an additional $1.017 million (about N203.45 million daily) as the country’s crude oil export dipped further by 21,000 barrels per day, due to recent bombings of pipelines in the Niger Delta.

This was even as Eni said it had declared force majeure on the Brass River crude oil stream after the bombing of the pipelines used in the transport of the crude oil grade.

According to reports, roughly 21,000 barrels per day (bpd) in total of the stream’s production were impacted by the blast, but just 4,200 bpd were from Eni’s equity stake.

At the current price of $48.44 per barrel for the benchmark crude grade, Brent, and using an average exchange rate of N200 to a dollar, Nigeria is currently losing $1.017 million, about N203.45 million.

Militants had in the last couple of weeks, stepped up attacks on petroleum products pipeline across the Niger Delta, with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, declaring that the bombings had reduced Nigeria’s crude oil export by 800,000 barrels per day, from about 2.2 million barrels to 1.4 million barrels per day.

Reacting to the bombings, Acting Director-General of the proposed Maritime Security Agency (MASECA), Mr. Jacob Ovweghre, called on the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, and other militant groups to henceforth, discontinue the attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta.

In a statement in Abuja, Ovweghre advised the NDA to have a rethink of their action and use intellectual agitation within the ambit of the law to pursue their demands, so as to gain credibility.

He said the actions of the NDA and other militant groups would cause greater pain to the people of Niger Delta, who would bear the direct burden of the crisis and not the government.

According to him, the destruction of the pipelines in the Niger Delta will reduce the states’ revenue bases and bleed the nation’s economy, increase environmental degradation, pollution, poverty, hunger, school drop-out, unrest, insecurity, under-development and economic loss.