LAGOS, Nigeria—An explosion closed a second Chevron facility in Nigeria, witnesses said Friday, as renewed attacks by militants further cut production in Africa’s biggest petroleum producer.
Adding to Nigeria’s economic woes, Exxon Mobil on Friday said some production of Qua Iboe crude—the West African nation’s largest crude grade—has halted because a drilling rig damaged a pipeline. The company declared force majeure, protecting it from contractual export obligations.
Nigeria’s oil production already had reached a 20-year low of less than 1.6 million barrels a day from a projected 2.2 million, because of attacks on a Chevron platform last week and on a pipeline that forced Shell to declare force majeure on Bonny Light crude on Wednesday. The same day, Shell began evacuating workers from its offshore Bonga oilfield following a militant threat, though production there is continuing.
