Junior oil workers under the aegis of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Thursday began an indefinite strike to protest poor welfare and the privatisation of the Port Harcourt refinery. Supply to the nation's four refineries was halted with a long queue of tankers witnessed in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

 NUPENG's President, Peter Akpatason, said if their demands are not met soon, they would also stop work in oil production facilities. "We will wait for two or three days and see what happens. If we don't get the desired results, we will then extend it to the upstream sector where the impact will be immediate," reports quoted Akpata as saying. The industrial action is coming just days before the scheduled inauguration of Umaru Yar'Adua as President.