The pipeline blast allegedly carried out by militants on Agip’s facility in Bayelsa State on Thursday has resulted to a drop of 16,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily.

The explosion came barely two weeks after an earlier strike at Escarvos that led to shutdown in Warri and Port Harcourt refineries and disruption in gas supply to some power plants.

The pipeline is located in Orukari, Golubokiri and Kpongbokiri communities of Brass Local Government in Bayelsa. Both attacks came weeks after a Lagos High Court issued arrest warrants for former militant leader, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, a.k.a Tompolo, to answer charges of fraud.

Residents said that the sound of the explosion caused panic and triggered oil leaks near the site.

An Eni Spokesman who confirmed the explosion on Monday said that the oil firm was working to restore normalcy and resume optimal production.

Eni, the Italian energy firm and parent company of Nigerian Agip oil Company (NAOC), said in an e-mail response that the cause of the blast was being investigated by the Nigerian security agencies.

“The Eni production impacted by the incident was 16,000 barrel oil equivalent daily (boed) and as at Monday morning all the activities aimed at restoring production have been activated,” Eni stated.

Production data obtained from Eni’s website indicate that NAOC exports some 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent from the oil firm’s crude export terminal before the explosion cut production by 16,000 boed.

Sources at National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) said today that that the blast was an act of sabotage and therefore fall within the scope of security agencies who will first have to clear the site before its officials can go in to assess the impact of the incident on the environment.