Petroleum Africa
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Tuesday, December 26, 2006
The armed militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), in southern Nigeria, admitted setting off bombs last week in oil city Port Harcourt, and warned on Sunday it was escalating the violence in order to intimidate and drive out the foreign oil companies. The movement is demanding a larger share in oil revenues, compensation for communities affected by oil pollution, and the release of some Niger Delta citizens that have been jailed, including two of its leaders.
A car bomb damaged government offices in Port Harcourt on Saturday, officials reported, and a water supply pipeline to the nearby Warri oil refinery was also bombed, but production was not shut-in. On December 7, Mend had taken four foreign oil workers – three Italians and one Lebanese – as hostages, and later attacked Italian Agip and Anglo-Dutch Shell facilities in Rivers and Bayelsa States. The four hostages have pleaded with their respective governments to help in having them released. MEND, however, has vowed not to release them until all their demands are met. Moreover, it has envisaged several attacks during the Christmas season and before the year ends.
The militancy incidences in the Niger Delta have reduced Nigeria’s daily oil exports of 2.6 million barrels by about a quarter. The country which is the world’s fifth biggest exporter, earns more than 90% of its foreign revenue from the oil sector.
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