Oil in Global Economy Series: NDA attacks Nigerian oil facilities kidnapping workers

Gunmen belonging to the group known as Nigerian Delta Avengers (NDA), which was responsible for a series of attacks In Nigerian oil-rich delta back in 2016 has launched an assault on an oil facility in the delta and kidnapped five oil workers. According to Nigerian oil firm Sahara Energy Oil Company, which operates in Southern oil-rich delta told the media of the abduction. Suspected gunmen reportedly abducted the workers on Wednesday on the border between the states of Edo and Delta.

The attack came just days after NDA warned of an imminent attacks on Delta for what they saw as a failure to address the concerns raised after the series of attacks in 2016. Due to those attacks, the oil production of Nigeria declined to 1.4 million barrels per day in 2016 but recovered slowly to reach as high as 1.8 million barrels per day in 2017 as NDA showed restraint.

A resurgence of attacks in 2018 could once again derail Nigeria’s production recovery and could threaten the price of oil, which is already hovering at multi-year highs. WTI is currently trading at $63.9 per barrel, while Brent is trading at $5.4 per barrel premium.