Western oil companies are free to resume production at four oil pumping stations in Nigeria after striking a deal with protesters, a community leader said yesterday.
The deal means Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron can restart 62,000 barrels per day shut for almost a week from the Ekulama I and II, Robertkiri and Belema flow stations located deep in the swamps of Rivers State.
Nigeria is the world's eighth largest oil exporter but supplies are frequently disrupted by violence in the country's oil heartland of the Niger Delta.
Protesters had on Monday vacated two of the facilities after a five-day occupation, but oil companies were waiting for a comprehensive resolution before returning to their sites.
"We agreed to reopen the remaining two flow stations because the companies agreed within three weeks to implement the global memorandum of understanding," said youth leader Hope Opusingi, referring to an agreement between the companies and communities.
He added that the community would shut the four oilfields permanently if the companies failed to deliver on the deal.
A spokesmen for Chevron confirmed the breakthrough and said the company hoped to finalise preparations for returning to the sites at a meeting with the state government.
"We are making progress with the government and the communities and we should resume production," said Femi Odumabo of Chevron.
Chevron may restart the Robertkiri platform quickly, but Shell's restart of Ekulama II may be delayed by suspected vandalisation during the occupation, company sources said.
Disputes between oil companies and communities who accuse them of not keeping promises of jobs and development are common in Nigeria.
Militancy is also on the rise across the Niger Delta, home to all the nation's oil and gas, where most people live in poverty despite the riches being pumped from their land.
Analysts expect the situation to deteriorate further in the runup to general elections in April.
Shell has closed oilfields pumping 500,000 barrels a day in another part of the delta after a wave of militant attacks in February and does not expect to go back there this year.
In a separate dispute between oil unions and Italian oil company Agip, workers threatened to start shutting down the company's oilfields unless it agrees to pay them a security premium reflecting the higher risks of working in the delta.
Unions accuse the management of bias by providing extra security only to expatriate staff.
Agip, a unit of ENI, normally exports about 200,000 barrels per day from Nigeria's Brass tanker terminal.