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Exxon NYSE:XOM says it is not responsible for 2nd spill in Niger Delta

Exxon Mobil Corp.’s Nigeria unit said a spill from one of its pipelines is mixing with a 2nd spill for which the oil giant wasn’t responsible.

On 9 November, a pipeline in Nigeria’s Akwa Ibom state began leaking 200 bbls of Crude Oil into the fragile environment, by Exxon’s early estimation.

Monday, though, spokesman Nigel Cookey-Gam said in an interview that the company’s Crude Oil may have mixed with an Oil spill from a separate, as of yet unknown source.

“We’re getting indications of a spill in the area that is not ours,” Mr. Cookey-Gam said. He added he didn’t yet know the source, size, or cause of the second spill.

Nigeria’s wetlands produce almost all of the country’s oil, and spills there are frequent. Environmentalists blame lax enforcement of safety regulations, as well as criminal gangs that steal more than 150,000 BPD from the nation’s pipelines.

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The latest spill in Africa’s top Crude Orude producer has pushed up Qua Iboe, the country’s benchmark oil grade, to around dated Brent plus 2.20 bbl, as the spill caused some export delays, a London-based West African Crude Oil trader said. That is up from 2.00 bbl last week, the trader said.

At least 3 cargoes of Qua Iboe were deferred on average by about 9 days.

Exxon Mobil’s production of Qua Iboe Crude Oil usually averages 400,000 BPD, according to Exxon’s website. The company holds a 40% interest in Qua Iboe field production and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. holds the remaining 60%.

The trader said he expects Qua Iboe differentials to hold between $2 and 2.20 above dated Brent Crude.

Partially, that is because US markets appear to retain ample supply of Nigerian Crude, amid a surge in unconventional US energy production. Imports of Nigeria’s light, sweet Crude into the US have fallen.

In July, just 361,000 BPD of Nigerian Crude made it across the Atlantic the US Energy Information Administration said in September. A year earlier, the US. brought in 810,000 BPD, the administration said.

Friday, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said India is now the lead purchaser of Nigerian Crude Oil.