Last week the sounds of guns ringing out across the oil-rich Niger Delta were largely drowned out by the cries of city traders in the world's financial centres.
Since the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) launched "Hurricane Barbarossa" against the major foreign oil companies in the region, fighting has rumbled on largely unreported. This all changed on Monday when news of the ceasefire came through.
Despite the superficial peace on the battlefield the Nigerian conflict continues to be a major concern to oil supplies, and especially with the current Nigerian government in disarray the war looks far from over.
However, if the optimists win the day and the peace does hold, it will end the worst spate of militant attacks to afflict the region in recent years.
To put a figure on the cost of the conflict; Nigeria's state oil company has reported a drop in production of 280,000 barrels since September 13 alone.
MEND first appeared on the Nigerian landscape in 2005 calling for more oil revenue to go to the southern states where the petroleum is pumped from.
From this point onwards crude production in the Niger Delta has fallen around 22%, to just 1.9 million barrels a day. Prior to this the region was pumping approximately 2.5 million barrels a day.
Some analysts have predicted that the total amount of production lost as a result of fighting, and the continued presence of the militant group, could be as high as 1.2 million barrels a day. If the fighting were to stop and production were to return to optimum levels it is estimated that output could top 3 million barrels a day, a figure with the capacity to help drive down world oil prices.
The human cost of the most recent episode of fighting remains unclear although the militant group have claimed to have killed several government soldiers, while seizing their arms and ammunition during the alleged invasion of houseboats and military posts located in the creeks.
MEND have also blown up flow stations and major oil pipelines operated mainly by the Shell Petroleum Development Company and the Chevron Nigeria Limited.
Mr. Jomo Gbomo, a MEND spokesman, said: "We hope that the military has learnt a bitter lesson. The next unprovoked attack will start another oil war that will be so ferocious that it will dim the pleas of the elders."
The current ceasefire agreement, called for by elders and politicians in the region, remains largely conditional with MEND stating that they would strike again if the Nigerian military struck any of its base camps. A fragile peace stands; whether it is lasting remains to be seen.
