Between a rock and a hard place

摘要

NIGERIA'S OIL SECTOR faced another troubled year in 2012, despite hopes otherwise - at least from a security and political perspective. Despite the long political deadlock, this was counter to expectations. Overall Nigerian crude production suffered a dip in Q4 2011 and in the first two months of 2012; however this was down to a number of pipeline attacks and resulting force majeure, together with particularly the glitch and oil spill at the offshore Bonga platform. All in all, these things felt like a temporary chink in the continuing recovery shown by Nigeria since 2010. Levels of militancy in the Niger Delta seemed to be falling in the wake of President Jonathan's policies, while efforts by some of the supermajors and Nigeria's NNPC to reinvigorate some of its mature onshore assets by farming them out to more focused juniors and midsize players, were starting to bear fruit.