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By Camillus Eboh
ABUJA, May 16 (Reuters) - Nigeria's oil production hasfallen by almost 40 percent to 1.4 million barrels a day due tomilitant attacks on facilities in the Delta region, its oilminister said on Monday.
Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu's comments come amid a resurgence ofmilitancy in the southern region which produces most of thecrude oil that Nigeria relies on for around 70 percent ofnational income, and days after Britain's foreign minister saidlocal grievances need to be addressed.
Kachikwu said efforts would be made to engage with people inthe area.
Nigerian oil output has been driven lower after attacks by agroup calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers which says itwants a greater share of oil profits and independence for theswampy region where residents have long complained of poverty.
Attacks in the last few weeks have hit platforms belongingto Chevron and Shell.
"Because of the incessant attacks and disruption ofproduction in the Niger Delta, as I talk to you now, we are nowproducing about 1.4 million barrels per day," Kachikwu told theHouse of Representatives.
"We were at 2.2 million bpd but we have lost 800,000barrels," said Kachikwu, who was invited to address the lowerhouse of parliament about the country's oil sector.
The 2016 budget assumes oil production of 2.2 millionbarrels per day at $38 a barrel.
Nigeria has moved in army reinforcements to hunt themilitants but British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond onSaturday said the government needed to the deal with the rootcauses of the conflict because a military confrontation couldend in "disaster".
Kachikwu echoed these sentiments when he toldparliamentarians experience had shown that force alone tends notto solve problems.
"There are going to be robust engagements on what could havehappened to the contract or relationship that used to existbetween the Niger Delta and the Nigerian police that hassuddenly resorted to sabotage," said Kachikwu.
President Muhammadu Buhari has extended a multi-milliondollar amnesty signed with militants in 2009 but upset them byending generous pipeline protection contracts.
"We are trying to look at the amnesty and what has happened.Policing is key, security is key and throwing economicpalliative to those sectors are also key," added Kachikwu.
He said the government was "trying to create fundingmechanisms for some private investments including fundingmechanisms for some modular refineries" and "actually gettingthem involved in the security of the facilities". (Writing by Ulf Laessing and Alexis Akwagyiram; editing byAdrian Croft and David Evans)
