Addax workers stop work, Nigeria's oil production drops

The protest by 324 Addax Petroleum employees from Nigeria, which had been put on hold in August, has started up again.

The change has impacted the nation's oil production, which dropped from over 1.5 million barrels per day in 2021 to over 1 million barrels per day now.

The oil industry's disgruntled employees bemoan the incapacity of the firm and the federal government to confront anti-labour activities.

The employees are a part of Nigeria's Petroleum and Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN).

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC) and Addax, according to a statement on Friday, have declined to discuss controversial matters.

Ken Olubor, the secretary of the PENGASSAN Addax Branch, complained about anti-labour behaviours that put their safety and security at peril.

Olubor pointed out that the security and safety of the workforce had been jeopardised.

“Addax Izombe facility OML-124 recently suffered an attempted bomb blast incident around the staff accommodation area.”

He claimed that as armed individuals continue to surround onshore places, workers in the field face greater threats.

Olubor claimed that the situation was clear from the consistently high medical expenditures that the business's human resources department had been keeping track of.

The union also charged Addax with excessive overtime without pay, protracted stagnation, and a lack of promotion since 2019.

Sinopec Group of China owns Addax and has four oil mining licences, numbered OML 123, 124, 126, and 137.

As part of a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with NNPC Ltd., the company is managing the assets.

In March 2021, the Nigerian government revoked Addax's licences because the business refused to completely develop the oil wells.

In June of this year, NNPC took control of the assets and started lifting all of its oil again.

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