By Randy Fabi
ABUJA, June 12 (Reuters) - Nigeria's main militant group said on Friday it had attacked one of Chevron's oil pipelines in the Niger Delta and threatened to sabotage another facility operated by the U.S. energy company.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said the pipeline was situated near a former militant camp destroyed by the military last month at Chanomi Creek in southern Nigeria's Delta state.
'A major gas pipeline manifold and a major crude oil pipeline belonging to Chevron recently repaired at a sum of over $56 million were both blown up,' MEND said in a statement sent by email.
A Chevron spokesman said the company was investigating MEND's claim of the attack.
The Niger Delta is the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.
MEND, which declared an 'all-out war' against the military last month, threatened to also attack a Chevron oil facility near the company's Escravos crude oil complex.
The militant group seems to be targeting Chevron-operated oil facilities.
It bombed an oil pipeline on May 24 that led to a loss in output of 100,000 barrels per day.
The group also claimed it sabotaged Chevron's Otunana pumping station in Delta state on Tuesday, but the military denied any attack occurred.
Last month, the military launched its biggest offensive for years, bombarding militant camps from the air and sea and sending three battalions of troops to hunt down rebels believed to have fled into surrounding communities.
The OPEC member's output peaked at around 2.4 million bpd before MEND burst on to the scene in early 2006 and knocked out almost a quarter of production in a matter of weeks. Output has never fully recovered.
Industry and security sources say it is virtually impossible to fully protect hundreds of miles (kilometres) of pipeline running through remote and largely unpopulated areas. Keywords: NIGERIA CHEVRON/ (randolph.fabi@thomsonreuters.com; Abuja Newsroom + 234 9 461 3214, Reuters Messaging: randolph.fabi.thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
ABUJA, June 12 (Reuters) - Nigeria's main militant group said on Friday it had attacked one of Chevron's oil pipelines in the Niger Delta and threatened to sabotage another facility operated by the U.S. energy company.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said the pipeline was situated near a former militant camp destroyed by the military last month at Chanomi Creek in southern Nigeria's Delta state.
'A major gas pipeline manifold and a major crude oil pipeline belonging to Chevron recently repaired at a sum of over $56 million were both blown up,' MEND said in a statement sent by email.
A Chevron spokesman said the company was investigating MEND's claim of the attack.
The Niger Delta is the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.
MEND, which declared an 'all-out war' against the military last month, threatened to also attack a Chevron oil facility near the company's Escravos crude oil complex.
The militant group seems to be targeting Chevron-operated oil facilities.
It bombed an oil pipeline on May 24 that led to a loss in output of 100,000 barrels per day.
The group also claimed it sabotaged Chevron's Otunana pumping station in Delta state on Tuesday, but the military denied any attack occurred.
Last month, the military launched its biggest offensive for years, bombarding militant camps from the air and sea and sending three battalions of troops to hunt down rebels believed to have fled into surrounding communities.
The OPEC member's output peaked at around 2.4 million bpd before MEND burst on to the scene in early 2006 and knocked out almost a quarter of production in a matter of weeks. Output has never fully recovered.
Industry and security sources say it is virtually impossible to fully protect hundreds of miles (kilometres) of pipeline running through remote and largely unpopulated areas. Keywords: NIGERIA CHEVRON/ (randolph.fabi@thomsonreuters.com; Abuja Newsroom + 234 9 461 3214, Reuters Messaging: randolph.fabi.thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
© 2009 AFX News
