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Nigerian oil minister plays down impact of strike
AFP
VIENNA
Petroleumworld.com 09 14 06
Nigeria's oil minister Edmund Daukoru played down on Wednesday the impact of a warning strike by local oil workers on the country's crude oil output.
"I don't think that we are so fragile as to lose too much volume over two days," he told reporters during an OPEC conference in Vienna.
"Our operations are going on in some fashion," he added.
The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) called the stoppage to protest at unrest in the volatile Niger Delta region, home to Nigeria's massive oil wealth.
"They do not intend to continue, so they say, and I believe them, it's only two days. The output will not fall," said Daukoru, who is also the current president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Daukoru said he did not believe that the unions were heading for a major showdown.
"It is symbolic, they lost some of their members. If this what it takes to get their hurt and their grief off their chest, I suppose they have a right to it," he added.
The unions have said their warning strike, which began on Wednesday, would last three days.
About 30 Nigerian security officers and oil workers have been killed in an upsurge in violence by seperatist militants in the oil-producing area in recent months. More than 40 expatriates have been kidnapped but later released.
Previous oil strikes in Nigeria have dragged on for several days and even weeks, leading to a scarcity of petrol for its 130-million-strong population.
AFP 13 1208 GMT 09 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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