Nigeria’s Oil Revenue Cut by Half

Nigeria’s oil revenue was slashed by half in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the previous quarter, official statistics released Thursday show, as the industry suffered the impact of militant attacks.
The huge slump in oil income dragged down total external trade by 29 percent over the same period last year.
Sales in the first quarter of 2009 fetched the country 735.4 billion naira (4.9 billion dollars/3.4 billion euros), sharply down on the previous quarter, when oil returned 9.86 billion dollars, the National Bureau of Statistics said in its July publication.
“Crude oil export stood at 735.4 billion naira (4.9 billion dollars/3.4 billion euros), a sharp decrease of 734.2 billion naira or 99.8 percent over that of fourth quarter 2008,” the Bureau said.
“Total trade figure for the first quarter of 2009 was 1,974.6 billion naira, thus indicating a drop of 572.5 billion naira or 29 percent over that of the fourth quarter of 2008,” it said.
“This sharp drop in the value of exports may be attributed to the activities of militants that reduce the quantity of crude exports.”
The country’s main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), has in recent months intensified an armed campaign against the oil majors and government installations in the Niger Delta.
MEND, which says it is fighting for a greater share of the Delta’s oil wealth for local communities, declared a 60-day truce on July 15 in response to a government amnesty deal.
The militant group late Tuesday released six foreign hostages in what it said was a “dividend” of the truce.
Nigeria, a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel, and the world’s eight largest producer, derives more than 90 percent of its foreign exchange earnings from crude oil exports.
Petroleum Minister Rilwanu Lukman said Wednesday that the nation’s oil production has been cut to about 1.5 million barrels per day, less than half of its capacity, by rebel attacks in the main producing region as well as the global economic crisis

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