LAGOS, 2 July 2003 — Multinational oil firms and the state-run oil giant said production activities in Nigeria were still not affected yesterday as a nationwide strike called by the central labor body to protest fuel price hikes began its second day. “So far, there has been no disruption in our operations. Our offices are open in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Activities are going on smoothly in our Port Harcourt operational base,” a spokesman of Total Nigeria told AFP.
Officials of American ChevronTexaco also told AFP that the two-day-old strike has not affected its output. “Most of our workers are at their posts and all our operations are open as at yesterday morning,” said Ndu Ughamadu, the spokesman of state-run Nigerian oil giant Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The main oil sector workers’ union, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), said the strike had disrupted oil production.
The offices of the nation’s two main oil unions were closed yesterday. But most of the multinational oil companies agreed that some of their administrative workers have been absent from work since the strike was launched.
Oil is the West African country’s main foreign currency earner, accounting for 96 percent of total revenue. The strike which began on Monday has already sent jitters throughout the country, affecting the population at large, the government and Nigeria’s trading partners and key operators.
Oil prices retreated yesterday .
The price of benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil for August delivery dropped 42 cents per barrel from the previous closing level to 27.91 dollars in late trading here.
New York’s reference light sweet crude August contract gave up 29 cents to $29.90 per barrel in early deals.