Chevron Nigeria Strike, Petrol Production Unaffected

The Nigerian senior oil workers union, PENGASSAN, has launched a strike against US giant Chevron, but company officials said Tuesday oil production had not been affected.

The white-collar Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) called the strike to compel the firm's management to sack a senior expatriate executive, Fred Nelson whom workers were accusing of anti-labour practices.

The industrial action is the latest crisis to hit Chevron in Nigeria in recent days.
On Thursday, the US company had its output cut by 120,000 barrels per day after a militant group blew up one of its key supply pipelines.

In Nigeria, Chevron operates and holds a 40 percent interest in 13 concessions covering 2.2 million acres (8,900 sq km), predominantly in the onshore and near-offshore regions of the restive Niger Delta.
In 2007, the company's total production from 32 fields averaged 353,000 barrels per day of crude oil, 14 million cubic feet of natural gas and 4,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), according to its website.