Members of a white-collar union working for Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN), an affiliate of US oil group ExxonMobil, began an indefinite strike Thursday over pay and working conditions.
ExxonMobil confirmed that there had been “some withdrawal of services” by members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, after negotiations stalled between management and the union.
“The strike is on. Our members are not at their duty posts,” union leader George Olumoroti-Olusola told AFP.
The union members include engineers and other senior staff. Junior workers of the blue-collar union NUPENG are not part of the strike.
A Mobil spokesman stressed there was no immediate disruption to production which averages around 780,000 barrels per day.
The US group said it was ready for further negotiations “as the most effective mechanism for resolving outstanding issues in the hope of a successful conclusion.”
Union officials had told AFP WednesdAy that the strike would “cripple exports if allowed to go ahead”.
ExxonMobil is the second largest oil company in Nigeria after Royal Dutch Shell.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest producer with a daily output of 2.1 million barrels but unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta has cut exports by a quarter since January 2006.
Early this week, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell said it had reduced output by 165,000 bpd following the sabotage of its supply pipelines to the Bonny export terminal in southern Nigeria.