* Blockade costing $22 mln a day, quarter of Nigeria budget
* Maritime security agency says NLNG owes $158 mln levies
By Tim Cocks and Oleg Vukmanovic
LAGOS/LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - Nigeria's federal court hasdelayed a ruling on a tax dispute between Nigeria's liquefiednatural gas company (NLNG) and the maritime security agency overtaxes until Monday, extending a deadlock that is costing $22million a day in lost gas exports, according to an economist.
Since June 21, the Nigerian Maritime Administration andSafety Agency (NIMASA) has barred LNG cargoes from entering orleaving the loading bay at the Bonny terminal in the Niger Delta because it says NLNG is not paying a 3 percent levy, from whichthe NLNG argues it is exempt.
The Parties were in court in Lagos on Friday to try toresolve the dispute over the lawfulness of the blockade and thelevies, which NLNG spokesman Kudo Ereia-Eke had earlier said hehoped would be resolved.
The court adjourned the case until Monday.
Nigeria's state oil firm owns 49 percent of NLNG with Shell holding 25.6 percent, Total 15 percent andEni 10.4 percent.
LNG accounted for 9 percent of Nigeria's exports in 2012,said economist Bismarck Rewane, CEO of Lagos-based consultancyFinancial Derivatives, or roughly $8.1 billion a year, a quarterof Nigeria's federal fiscal budget for 2013.
"That's about $155 million a week, of which 51 percentbelongs to the Nigerian government," he said. "That is a lot ofmoney to the Finance Ministry."
NLNG declared force majeure on gas exports on June 28 because of the blockade.
Ereia-Eke declined to give figures for NLNG losses, andfinance ministry officials were not immediately available.
NIMASA spokesman Isichei Osamgbi said the agency was seekingcumulative levies of $158 million.
"Our business is not to cause any crisis to the gas sector.We just insist on our dues. Why shouldn't they pay the leviesthat are applicable to anybody?" he said.
NLNG argues that the act that established it makes itexempt, but Osamgbi said the exemptions expired after the firstyear of profit, following a 5-year holiday.
A shipping source said NIMASA already charges LNG tankers$600,000 per berth to load at the NLNG bay, four times higherthan the average among the highest fees of any LNG port.
NLNG says a court order was issued on June 18 preventingNIMASA from blockading the port until a resolution was found,but the maritime agency denies that.
Buyers of Nigeria's LNG include Spain's Repsol,Italy's Enel, Britain's BG Group France's GDFSuez and Portugal's Galp.
"Customers of NLNG in Europe and Asia are starting to gointo panic mode," a trading source told Reuters.
