* Blockade cost $475 mln in lost revenues over 3 weeks
* NIMASA says will lift blockade when payment made
By Tim Cocks
LAGOS, July 12 (Reuters) - Nigeria's maritime securityagency has agreed to lift a three-week blockade on Nigeria LNG'sships, which had cost $475 million in lost revenue, after thecompany agreed to pay a levy "under protest", NLNG said.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA) had blocked liquefied natural gas ships from leavingthe Bonny terminal for the past three weeks because of a disputeover unpaid levies, which NLNG argued it was exempt from paying.
The two sides settled on a payment of $140 million.
The lost revenue amounted to three times the $158 millionthat NIMASA had been demanding in back taxes.
"The blockade had also led to ... reduction of domestic gasto power and a shutdown of offshore and onshore productionfacilities," NLNG said. Its gas shipments account for 9 percentof Nigeria's total exports.
NLNG is 49 percent owned by Nigeria's state oil firm, 25.6percent by Shell, 15 percent by Total and10.4 percent by Eni.
As well as clearing the back levies, NLNG also said it wouldin future pay the 3 percent levies demanded of it.
"We will lift the blockade as soon as payment is made asagreed by the parties. They have to start paying in future,"NIMASA spokesman Isichei Osamgbi said. "We are glad it is over."
The NLNG statement said the company would continue to arguethat it is "exempt from NIMASA levies under the terms of theNLNG Act".
A court had ruled twice that the maritime agency andsecurity company Global West should end the blockade, but theruling went ignored.
Security sources say Global West is run by a former NigerDelta militant, Government Ekpumopolo, nicknamed "Tompolo",although he is not officially on its board.
Tompolo was one of several ex-militant commanders in theDelta who were paid off under a government amnesty programme in2009 to end attacks on oil installations that at one point hadcut production by half.
Buyers of Nigeria's LNG include Spain's Repsol,Italy's Enel, Britain's BG Group France's GDFSuez and Portugal's Galp.
