Oil News.
May 2, 2008According to BBC oil prices have fallen on expectations that oil giant Exxon will restart production following the resolution of a strike in Nigeria.
The eight day strike contributed to near-record high oil prices after the company was forced to almost completely shut down production in Nigeria.
US light, sweet crude was down $2.53 at $110.46 a barrel. In London, Brent crude was $2.22 lower at $109.14.
Last week, oil was trading at almost $120 a barrel in New York.
The NNPC began mediating Monday to end the strike but its efforts yielded no results on Wednesday.
“The strike is to continue but negotiations will resume on Thursday at 12 noon local time (1100 GMT),” Olusola said.
XOM 89.70, -3.37, -3.6%) , is the second-largest oil company in Nigeria after Shell. MPN with its other upstream subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd., or EPNL, produce around 866,000 barrels of oil a day.
The entire production has, however, been shut in by the strike while the company’s oil exports have also ceased. ExxonMobil has already given notice of force majeure as a result of the strike.
“ExxonMobil affiliates in Nigeria confirm that discussions are ongoing,” Yemi Fakayejo, MPN public affairs adviser, said Wednesday night. “It is the affiliates’ belief that dialogue is the most effective mechanism for resolution of issues.”
