Seadrill sells $146.5 mln rig to Nigerian SeaWolf

(Reuters) - Norwegian offshore services group Seadrill has agreed to sell jack-up rig West Titania for $146.5 million to Nigerian drilling contractor SeaWolf Oil Services Ltd, Seadrill said on Wednesday.

The unit, built in 1981, will be transferred to SeaWolf upon completion of its present contract in Tunisia, expected to run until November 2007, Seadrill said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

EU says has market for Trans Saharan pipeline gas

(Reuters) - The European Union assured Algeria, Nigeria and Niger on Monday that it had a market for gas from a proposed Trans-Saharan pipeline, while leaders from those countries sought investors to make the project a reality.

The 4,000 km (2,500 miles) Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, planned as a joint venture between Algeria's Sonatrach and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, is designed to allow Nigeria to export its huge natural gas reserves more easily to European markets.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Oil May Rise Next Week on Supply Risks, Refining Disruptions, Survey Shows

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil may rise next week on
concern that oil supplies from Nigeria and Iran may be curbed and
U.S. gasoline output will drop because of unexpected refinery
closures.

Sixteen of 36 analysts surveyed, or 44 percent, said oil
prices will increase. Fourteen, or 39 percent, said prices will
fall and six forecast little change. Last week, 49 percent of
respondents said prices would rise.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Oil Rises to a 10-Month High on Nigerian Unrest, U.S. Refinery Shutdowns

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a 10-month high, on
concern that unrest in Nigeria may curb oil shipments and
unexpected shutdowns at U.S. refineries will cut fuel production.

Nigerian gunmen kidnapped a three-year-old daughter of a
British expatriate on her way to school in the southern oil city
of Port Harcourt, a police spokesman said. Five contractors were
seized yesterday from a rig operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc's
Nigerian venture. Futures pared gains after the Energy Department
reported that U.S. oil and fuel supplies rose last week.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Oil Trades Near 10-Month High on U.S. Gasoline Concern, Nigeria Rig Attack

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil traded near a 10-month high
in New York on concern renewed violence in Nigeria and refinery
breakdowns may restrict U.S. fuel supplies.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said five expatriate contractors were
abducted from a rig in Nigeria, where militant groups this week
ended a one-month truce with the government. A U.S. government
report today will probably show the nation's gasoline stockpiles
remained below average as rising demand and plant faults hamper
refiners' efforts to store fuel.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Crude Oil Trades Near 10-Month High After Attack on Shell Rig in Nigeria

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil traded near a 10-month high
in New York after Royal Dutch Shell Plc said militants attacked
its rig in Nigeria, raising concern about further oil supply
disruption from Africa's largest producer.

Five expatriate contractors working for Lonestar Drilling
Nigeria Ltd. were taken hostage, said Precious Okolobo, a
spokesman for Shell's Nigerian venture. The attack occurred
early this morning in the Soku field, where the rig was drilling
a well. No production was affected, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Cocoa Rallies to 1-Month High as Strike in Nigeria Disrupts Farmer Exports

(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa rose to a one-month high in
New York after a four-day strike in Nigeria, the fourth-largest
producer last year, disrupted exports and renewed concerns that
demand may outpace supply.

The strike will cause ``delayed exports,'' Akinwale Ojo,
the secretary-general of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria, said
June 22. Ports were shut and a fuel shortage prevented farmers
from transporting beans. The International Cocoa Organization
says global demand will exceed supply by 145,000 metric tons
this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Crude Oil Falls as Supply Concerns Ease After Nigerian Strike Is Settled

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell in New York after a
strike in Nigeria was settled, easing concerns about supply
disruptions from Africa's biggest oil producer.

Labor unions called off the four-day strike after the
government said it will restrict domestic fuel price rises and
review the sale of two state-owned oil refineries, Lumumba
Okugbawa, deputy general secretary of the Petroleum & Natural Gas
Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, said June 23.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Nigerian unions call off general strike

(Reuters) - Nigerian unions called off a crippling strike in Africa's top oil producer on Saturday after the government agreed to freeze fuel prices for a year, both sides said in a statement.

The four-day-old general strike had halted most economic activity in Africa's most populous nation, but vital exports of crude oil were not affected.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Nigerian unions dig in for a long strike

(Reuters) - Nigerian unions dug in for a long battle with the government on Friday after the collapse of talks on the third day of a general strike over fuel prices.

Unions threatened to extend the strike, which has already crippled most sectors of the economy, to essential services such as water and power.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Oil Is Steady After Falling From Nine-Month High on U.S. Gasoline Supply

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed in New
York after falling from a nine-month high yesterday on a report
showing U.S. oil and gasoline supplies rose more than forecast.

Oil inventories surged 6.9 million barrels to 349.3 million
last week, a nine-year high and 10 percent more than the average
for this time of year, the Energy Department reported yesterday.
Nigerian oil personnel will stop work at export terminals today
as unions increase pressure on the government in the second day
of a general strike.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Oil Declines as Traders Conclude Gains to Nine-Month High Were Unjustified

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell from near a nine-month
high in New York as some traders speculated recent gains that
followed unrest in Nigeria were unjustified.

Nigeria's two main oil unions said yesterday they planned to
join a general strike scheduled to start tomorrow. In addition,
Chevron Corp. and Eni SpA reported raids on facilities in the West
African nation, Africa's biggest oil producer.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Nigerian Intercontinental Bank raises $706 mln

(Reuters) - Nigeria's Intercontinental Bank Plc has raised 90 billion naira from a hugely oversubscribed public offering of shares, the bank said on Thursday.

The bank gave no explanation for the 9-month delay in announcing the results of the offering, comprising a rights issue and two public offers, which took place in September.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Crude Oil Trades Near Two-Week High on Concerns Over Oman Cyclone, Nigeria

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed near a
two-week high in New York after rising yesterday on risks to
supplies from the Middle East and Nigeria.

Oman evacuated about 7,000 people from coastal areas in the
path of a cyclone heading toward the coast, Agence-France Presse
reported. Brent crude oil climbed to $70.40 a barrel yesterday on
the risk to tankers operating in the Gulf and the threat of
further strikes in Nigeria, Africa's biggest producer.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Nigerian state sues drugmaker Pfizer over tests

(Reuters) - The attorney general of Kano, in northern Nigeria, filed five claims for damages totaling $2.075 billion before a state high court. The defendants are Pfizer, its Nigerian subsidiary and seven individuals who worked for the companies in 1996.




"The plaintiff contends that prior to the treatment by the first defendant , the children treated ... which children number 200, did not have the medical conditions or disorders which they suffered after being treated," the suit says.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Shell's Nigerian Venture Begins to Restore Lost Output Following Protests

(Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc's Nigerian
venture began to restore 150,000 barrels a day of Bonny light
crude oil today following an attack on pipelines yesterday.

Shell spokesman Precious Okolobo said villagers yesterday
raided the Bomu Manifold, a gathering point for crude flowing to
the Bonny export terminal. Production was briefly halted.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Crude Oil Rises on Supply Concerns as Militants Attack Nigerian Pipeline

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil in New York pared gains after
production began to resume from a Nigerian pipeline that was
attacked and shut down yesterday.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe's largest oil company by market
value, has begun restoring 150,000 barrels of lost output after an
attack on a pipeline yesterday, said spokesman Precious Okolobo.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Crude Oil Falls on Speculation Rising U.S. Gasoline Output Will Cut Prices

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell in New York on
speculation U.S. fuel prices may ease as refiners increase output
to meet summer demand.

U.S. gasoline production rose to its highest since December
in the week ended May 18, increasing inventories for a third week.
Stockpiles that week were 7 percent below the five-year average
on May 18, according to Energy Department data. Oil workers in
Nigeria ended a two-day strike after the government agreed new
pay and benefits, Reuters reported May 26.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Crude Oil Is Little Changed Amid Signs U.S. Gasoline Supplies Increased

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed in New
York after plunging 2 percent yesterday on speculation a
government report will show U.S. gasoline supplies increased.

Inventories of gasoline rose 1.2 million barrels last week,
according to the median of 17 responses in a Bloomberg survey.
Refineries operated at 90 percent of capacity, up 0.5 percentage
point from the week before, the survey showed. Workers at
Nigerian National Petroleum Co. will strike at midnight unless an
agreement is reached to save jobs after the sale of a refinery.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News