Peace in Nigeria could help boost oil supply

President Umaru Yar’Adua used his inaugural address Tuesday to appeal for an immediate end to the violence that has slashed crude production in Nigeria’s oil heartland, and the largest militant group said it would consider the overture.

The prospect of increased output for Africa’s biggest oil country and a major U.S. supplier sent prices down on international markets.

Yar’Adua’s unusually conciliatory overture highlighted the challenge that oil-related violence poses as he struggles to establish legitimacy after an April election victory denounced as fraudulent by the opposition and called not credible by international observers.

WilmingtonStar