Nigeria's daily crude oil production plunged by 16% after a brief Dangote refinery strikes

According to an impact study, Nigeria's daily production of oil and gas dropped during the short nationwide strike called by the oil workers' union PENGASSAN on Wednesday. The talks between Dangote Refinery and government mediators were called off after.

The strike began on 28 September after Dangote, Africa's biggest refinery with a crude-processing capacity of 650,000 barrels a day, fired more than 800 unionised employees.

According to a report from the state oil company NNPC Ltd, the walkout resulted in a reduction of 283,000 barrels of oil per day, or roughly 16% of total national production, as well as 1.7 billion cubic feet of gas per day. It also caused NNPC Ltd. to lose more than 1,200 Megawatts of electricity generation.

If the disruption continues, it could pose a "material risk to national energy safety".

The Shell-operated Bonga flotating production unit, the Oben Gas Plant, the Nigeria LNG Train 5 and 6 were all affected by the strike. Midstream networks and Nigeria LNG Train 5 and 6 restarts were also delayed.

The report stated that cargo loadings at the Dangote refinery, as well as export terminals like Akpo Brass and Egina, were also delayed. This could have resulted in demurrage charges. At least five maintenance and project deadlines had also been pushed back, according to the report.

NNPC has activated its business continuity plans, deployed non-union employees to maintain operations during the shutdown and warned of "significant revenue loss" due to missed gas sales and liftings.

After talks, the union called off the strike. This reduced immediate supply risks. However, NNPC warned that systemic weaknesses remained. Tife Owolabi contributed additional reporting from Yengoa. Elisha Gbogbo is the author. Mark Potter (editing)

(source: Reuters)