Nigeria oil thieves keep a lid on output even as bombs abate

Washington

THE Agbada 2 flow station should have been buzzing with activity, pumping crude to one of Nigeria's largest export terminals. Instead it was idle in the muggy, mid-morning heat as Wilcox Emmanuel, the facility's manager, shrugged in resignation about the thieves who'd shut him down.

As much as 30 per cent of the oil sent by pipelines through the swampy Niger River delta is stolen, consultant Wood Mackenzie estimates. That's depriving the country of income amid a crippling recession and compounding the pain of a global price slump for Africa's largest producer.

At Agbada, the wells dotting the surrounding forests had been closed…