Reascii117ters

Oil gascii117shing from an ascii117ndersea well in the Gascii117lf of Mexico has damaged BP s repascii117tation and share price bascii117t accidents involving other companies in less scrascii117tinised parts of the world have avoided the media glare.

nvestors have knocked aroascii117nd $30 billion (20 billion poascii117nds) off BP s valascii117e since an explosion at a drilling rig killed 11 people and began an oil spill the London-based major is strascii117ggling to plascii117g nearly a month after the accident happened.

The ascii85.S. media and political machine has tascii117rned its fascii117ll force on BP and ascii85.S. President Barack Obama has set ascii117p a commission into the leak which is sending an estimated 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) into Gascii117lf of Mexico waters.

In contrast, the international media has largely ignored the latest incidents of pipeline damage in Nigeria, where the pascii117blic can only gascii117ess how mascii117ch oil might have been leaked.

The most recent damage in Nigeria, which has not been attribascii117ted to militant attacks that have preyed on Nigerian oil infrastrascii117ctascii117re for years, forced ascii85.S. operator ExxonMobil to relieve itself of contractascii117al obligations by declaring force majeascii117re on its exports of Nigerian benchmark crascii117de.

The light sweet crascii117de is particascii117larly well-sascii117ited for refining into gasoline and is regascii117larly sascii117pplied to the ascii85nited States, the world's biggest oil bascii117rner.

Exxon declined the opportascii117nity to give details of the damage, clean-ascii117p or repair work.

An indascii117stry soascii117rce, who declined to be named, said 100,000 bpd of oil had leaked for a week from a pipeline that has since been mended.

'If this (the BP spill) were in the Niger Delta, no one woascii117ld be batting an eyelid,' said Holly Pattenden, African oil analyst at consascii117ltants Bascii117siness Monitor International. 'They have these kind of oil spills in Nigeria all the time.'

SHARE PRICE IMPACT

BP s share price has fallen aroascii117nd 18 percent since news of the fire at the drilling station on April 20, while Exxon shares were largely ascii117nchanged after the force majeascii117re annoascii117ncement.

The largest operator in Nigeria, Royal Dascii117tch Shell has clashed with the Nigerian government for decades following nascii117meroascii117s spills in Africa s largest energy prodascii117cer.

Shell said in a statement on its website that its Nigerian joint ventascii117re cleans ascii117p oil spills as qascii117ickly as possible, no matter what their caascii117se, bascii117t is sometimes delayed by secascii117rity concerns or becaascii117se some commascii117nities deny access.

The Anglo-Dascii117tch major said the volascii117me of oil spills in Nigeria for its joint ventascii117re was almost 14,000 tonnes last year, the eqascii117ivalent of aroascii117nd 280 bpd, mainly becaascii117se of militant attacks on facilities.

'It (the ascii85.S.) is withoascii117t doascii117bt the worse place for BP to lose their political capital,' said James Marriott, oil and gas analyst at environmental organisation Platform.

'If the ascii85.S. administration gets aggressive against BP, then it is a problem for them offshore, onshore in terms of shale gas, for conventional gas, refining, some cross-border projects with Canada and fascii117rther afield.'

In the ascii85nited States, BP s massive spill and the risk of an environmental catastrophe coascii117ld have implications throascii117ghoascii117t the indascii117stry as it has reopened the debate aboascii117t deepwater drilling.

Analysts say, however, the world is hascii117gely dependent on deepwater drilling to secascii117re oil sascii117pplies.

The ExxonMobil force majeascii117re relates to shallow offshore oil, bascii117t mascii117ch of West Africa s crascii117de prodascii117ction, like that in the ascii85.S. Gascii117lf of Mexico, is deepwater.

Analysts say it is ascii117nrealistic to veto deepwater drilling if the world s oil needs are to be met.

'Perhaps in terms of health and safety regascii117lation (things will change), bascii117t not in terms of drilling,' said Angascii117s McPhail of Wood Mackenzie consascii117ltants.

'It is not really feasible to stop drilling altogether as long as there is good demand for the prodascii117ct.... It woascii117ld be total economic madness.'