Friday June 19, 04:55 PM
Nigeria's militants say destroyed oil pipeline
By Joel Olatunde Agoi
LAGOS (AFP) - Nigeria's main militant group said it destroyed on Friday a major pipeline supplying crude oil to Italian oil group Agip's Brass exports terminal.
The Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) said in a statement the pipeline "was blown up at the Nembe creek in Bayelsa state" in the early hours of Friday.
The Italian group confirmed the act of "sabotage", the latest to hit oil majors operating in the volatile Niger Delta in recent weeks.
In a statement from its Rome headquarters, Agip said the attack had forced an output loss of 33,000 barrels a day of crude and two million cubic metres of gas a day.
MEND said its fighters had encountered and disarmed seven Nigerian soldiers from a military gunboat, which it disabled with explosives.
On Thursday, MEND claimed it destroyed a major crude oil pipeline belonging to Royal Dutch Shell (Amsterdam: RDSA.AS - news) as the group stepped up a campaign against foreign oil companies in the country.
MEND said it carried out the attack "in furtherance of ... our campaign to cripple the entire oil and gas export of the Federal Republic of Nigeria".
The Anglo-Dutch oil giant confirmed the attack late Thursday.
Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) "can confirm that the Trans Ramos pipeline at Aghoro -2 community in Bayelsa state was attacked on last night (June 17)," company spokesman Precious Okolobo said.
"Some oil production has been shut in to avoid potential environmental impact," he said, refusing to disclose the volume of output loss.
"The relevant government agencies have been informed and a joint investigation visit is planned," he added.
The pipeline feeds Shell's Forcados exports terminal, which the company said earlier Wednesday would not resume operations for another two months due to delays in repairing another key pipeline damaged by vandals.
Local media said some 185,000 barrels per day of crude had been shut in as a result of the attack on Shell.
MEND has staged numerous attacks on international oil facilities in southern Nigeria as part of a campaign since December 2005 to get what it calls a fairer distribution of the region's oil wealth to local people.
MEND declared earlier this month an "all-out oil war" aimed at halting production and carried out several attacks on installations belonging to the US company Chevron (NYSE: CVX - news) .
Unrest in the Niger Delta has substantially reduced Nigeria's oil output, putting pressure on crucial export earnings.
Daily oil production in Nigeria currently stands at 1.8 million barrels, according to the latest June report of the International Energy Agency, lower than the 2.6 million barrels of 2006.
Nigerian President Umaru Yar?Adua has promised to unveil details of an amnesty package for militants within a week, as part of efforts to end the unrest and save Nigeria's multi-billion-dollar oil and gas industry.
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