Chevron shuts down some oil production in Nigeria following attack

January 10, 2010 Chevron Corporation, the US oil producer, has announced that it would be cutting some of its oil production in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria after security officials said one of their pipelines was attacked by rebels.

"Chevron Nigeria Limited [...] confirms that there was a breach on its Makaraba-Utonana pipeline in Delta State, Nigeria on Friday," Chevron commented.

In total, Chevron is to cut 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) from platforms supplying the pipeline with oil.

On Friday, reports said that gunmen in the Niger Delta, an oil-rich area, attacked the pipeline, which had been sabotaged in the past. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Previous violence by rebels has stopped Nigeria from using more than about two-thirds of its maximum pumping capacity of three million bpd, costing it about US$1 billion per month.