When militants in Nigeria’s southern Niger River delta started attacking oil installations, President Muhammadu Buhari promised to crush them by force. A year and $7 billion in lost oil exports later, his decision to switch tack by negotiating with the fighters seems to be working.
All but one force majeure, a clause that gives oil producers the right to miss supply obligations, have been lifted since peace talks were initiated in November with militants. Shipments at Forcados, the nation’s third-largest export terminal, are on course to restart in the second quarter. Nigeria rivals Angola as Africa’s biggest oil producer.
