Nigeria’s Leader Says Oil Production Up

Nigeria’s president said that oil production has been increasing in his country and attacks on oil workers in its crude-rich southern delta region have been decreasing as a result of the dialogue his government initiated with militants.

Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua said in an interview Thursday that despite the continued kidnapping of oil workers, a committee that includes the government and militant leaders was headed toward a peace plan.
Yar’Adua claimed a “gradual coming back” of companies engaged in oil production due to the improved security situation. He said last week he received a report that crude oil production had risen by 400,000 barrels per day.

“So many oil stations that for the past two years have been closed have been opened as a result of the gains we have made in talking directly with the militants,” he said, adding that the dialogue was headed toward a comprehensive peace plan.

Yar’Adua added that Port Harcourt, the hub of the country’s oil and gas industry, “has now been made safe by decisive action of the security forces.”

Forbes