Oil & Gas
ExxonMobil Recalls Nigeria Ops Mgr Over Strike Threat
By AFX News Limited
Jul 8, 2004, 22:21

ExxonMobil has recalled the head of its Nigerian operation Mike Fry to pave way for a peaceful resolution of a pay dispute with the local staff, a spokesman said.

"Our MD (managing director) has been recalled to the headquarters in the United States as part of a move to resolve the crisis," the spokesman for Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) Unlimited told Agence France-Presse.

He said a new chief executive officer, John Chaplin, had been named to replace the former managing director, adding that the decision was not an "indictment of Mr Fry".

Mobil Producing Nigeria, an affiliate of ExxonMobil, said at the weekend its workforce had issued a strike notice in pursuit of a review of compensation and benefits.

Separately, a spokesman for the Nigerian subsidiary of French group Total said it will resume oil and gas production in Nigeria after a six-day stoppage.

"We hope to restart production very soon, hopefully today. We struck a deal with the workers last night and all is now well," spokesman Fred Ohahwa said, refusing to disclose details of the deal.

But a spokeswoman at Total's Paris headquarters told AFP that output in Nigeria had already resumed and that the company expected to be back up to full capacity of 215,000 barrels per day by the weekend.

Total's Nigerian operations shut down oil and gas production in the west African country on Friday, as workers downed tools to demand better pay and conditions.

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