Nigeria's state oil company has shut down crude oil flows to two of its
four refineries after weekend attacks on pipelines, a company spokesman
said on Monday, frustrating government hopes to start weaning the
country from expensive imports.
The refineries in the northern
city of Kaduna and Warri, in the southern Niger Delta, were affected,
said Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) spokesman, Ohi
Alegbe.
"We have shut down flows for now, the military are on top of the matter," he said, without offering
details of the attacks.
The 125,000 barrel per day (bpd) Warri refinery
and the 110,000 bpd Kaduna refinery had resumed output in December after
several months of maintenance. The Kaduna refinery receives its
feedstock oil via the Warri refinery.
Nigeria also has a third
refining complex with two plants in the southern oil hub of Port
Harcourt, although only the newer of the two plants is currently
functioning.
No group claimed responsibility for the weekend
attacks, which follow last week's arrest warrant for former militant
leader turned businessman, Government Ekpemupolo, known as Tompolo, as
part of a crackdown on corruption.
A statement issued by the
military's operation Pulo Shield in the oil-rich Niger Delta region
vowed to hold "community leaders responsible for any act of sabotage."
"This
warning is coming as a result of recent, multiple attacks on oil
facilities and platforms by suspected militants in the Niger Delta
region," the statement issued on Sunday said, without offering further
details.
The attacks follow years of relative calm in the
country's oil-producing region after an 2009 amnesty halted frequent
attacks on oil installations and kidnappings of expatriate workers
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