Last week, PENGASSAN, Nigeria’s oil workers’ union, shook the country’s energy sector with a brief nationwide strike.
The union launched the action after Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest, dismissed over 800 unionised staff, immediately halting much of the nation’s oil and gas production.
Output And Power Plunge
As a result, daily oil output fell by around 283,000 barrels — about 16% of Nigeria’s total production — while gas supply dropped by 1.7 billion standard cubic feet per day.
Furthermore, power generation lost more than 1,200 megawatts, heightening concerns over national energy security.
The strike affected several key facilities.
The Shell-operated Bonga floating production unit and the Oben gas plant went offline, and delays hit Nigeria LNG’s Train 5 and 6.
Additionally, cargo loadings at export terminals including Akpo, Brass, and Egina faced postponements, raising the risk of costly demurrage.
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Meanwhile, project managers struggled as at least five critical maintenance and project deadlines slipped.
NNPC Response And Aftermath
In response, NNPC deployed non-union staff and activated contingency plans to sustain operations, yet it warned that the disruption caused “significant revenue losses.”
Eventually, government-mediated talks led PENGASSAN to suspend the strike on Wednesday, relieving immediate supply pressures.
However, the episode revealed Nigeria’s ongoing vulnerability to labour unrest, showing how quickly strikes can ripple through the country’s oil-dependent economy.
