As a reminder of how vulnerable Nigeria's oil industry is, an oil spill involving four flow stations in Bayelsa State led to the closure of Shell Petroleum Development Company's 420,000 barrels per day production facility in the area. The oil company quickly cried sabotage and an investigation revealed three holes drilled in the top of the pipeline by oil thieves. 

Meanwhile, Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited has undergone a major restructuring in order to boost the French company's crude oil and gas production in 2004. The company also said it was hoping to develop deep offshore projects to improve on its daily crude oil production capacity. - Adam Geibel