News blackout for giant new Nigerian oil ship

LAGOS, Jan 18 (Reuters) – A giant new oil production vessel has arrived at the Agbami field off the coast of Nigeria, but U.S. company Chevron has imposed a news blackout due to security fears, industry sources said on Tuesday.

The California-based company is afraid that armed groups in the Niger Delta might try to attack the billion dollar ship as it is being hooked up to oilwells on the seabed, causing delays to its mid-year startup.


“It arrived just after Christmas and is now being hooked up,” said an industry source who receives reports of the operation, asking not to be named because he is not allowed to talk to the media.

A Chevron source, asking not to be named, said news of the ship’s arrival, normally a cause for celebration, was being kept quiet because of fears of militant attack. Company spokesmen in Lagos and London declined to give any information.

Reuters