Navy Battles Militants

A stand-off that lasted for over 30 minutes was said to have ensued when the naval officers noticed the sudden movement and the simultaneous opening of fire with automatic weapons by the rebels, and had to return fore for fire.

Even though they managed to kill one of the navy personnel, the rebels were curtailed and forced into hasty retreat, fleeing in different directions, by the men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) who sank one of the boats carrying 12 militants.

Spokesman of the JTF, Lt. Colonel Sagir Musa said the rebels’ aim was to destroy the facility and take the arms of the personnel there, but that they met them on red alert.

‘The militants attacked the facility and wanted to destroy it and disrupt production but were overwhelmed. We sank one of their boats; the attack failed. We however lost one personnel, but the facility is on and producing without disruption,’ Colonel Musa said.

(Afrik.com)

Government Says Six Gunmen Killed

Nigerian security forces killed six unidentified gunmen in the oil-rich Niger Delta region and recovered weapons used by the attackers, a military spokesman said.

The assailants used six speedboats to stage a raid yesterday morning on a military installation near the Soku gas plant, about 15 miles west of Port Harcourt, Lieutenant-Colonel Sagir Musa, a spokesman for the task force in charge of security in the region, said in an interview. A machine gun, three AK-47 assault rifles and one FN rifle were seized.

``The attack was aimed at crippling our position, taking away our arms and ammunition and damaging the gas plant,'' Musa said. ``Our men are in full control of the area. There is no cause for alarm.''

Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer and attacks by armed groups in the southern delta, which accounts for nearly all of the country's output, have cut more than 20 percent of exports since 2006. While groups such as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, claim to be fighting for more local access to oil wealth, others kidnap oil workers for ransom.

In an attack in September, MEND said it destroyed parts of the Soku gas plant, which is owned by Royal Dutch Shell Plc. On Sept. 21, the group declared a cease-fire ``until further notice'' in the delta region.

(Bloomberg)

Hostages Captured off Cameroon In Good Health

Ten oil workers taken hostage off Cameroon's coast are "in good health", the leader of the West African rebels who kidnapped the men told AFP Sunday.

"The hostages are in good health. They are being looked after and remain safe," said Ebi Dari, the chief of the Bakassi Freedom Fighters, over the phone, while adding the group had had no contact with Cameroon's government.

"They (the government) know what we want. We sent our demands three months ago and have received no response. We want to meet them. That's why we took hostages," he said.

On Saturday, Dari told AFP the rebel group had "changed its mind" about plans to kill the workers, saying they would keep them hostage "for a very long time."

The Bakassi Freedom Fighters, opposed to Cameroon's takeover of the Bakassi Peninsula from Nigeria, had threatened on Friday to kill the hostages "one by one" unless the government agreed to reopen talks on the oil-rich territory's status.

They seized the 10 oil workers -- six French, one Franco-Senegalese, two Cameroonians and one Tunisian - in a pre-dawn pirate attack Friday on an industry support vessel working off the coast of Cameroon.

"We have not done this for money," said Dari. "People in Bakassi are suffering."
Neighbouring Nigeria ceded Bakassi to Cameroon in August after a ruling by the International Court of Justice brought to an end a 15-year dispute over the peninsula, including rights to its oil fields and fishing grounds.

The handover was completed peacefully, but some local groups opposed the change of sovereignty and threatened attacks.

The Bakassi Freedom Fighters, part of a shadowy group dubbed the Niger Delta Defence and Security Council, claimed responsibility in June and July for attacks that killed seven

Cameroonian troops and a local official.

(APF)

Construction Worker Kidnapped

Unidentified gunmen kidnapped a Lebanese construction worker in the southern Nigerian oil industry hub of Port Harcourt on Monday, police and a private security source in the city said.

"A Lebanese was kidnapped by gunmen this morning but our men are on their trail," police spokeswoman Rita Inoma-Abbey said.

The security source said the man was employed by an engineering company which is working on a road project in the Choba suburb of Port Harcourt, the main city in the Niger Delta, which is home to Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.

The region has long been racked by insecurity, particularly since militants launched a campaign of violent sabotage against the oil industry two years ago to push for a greater share of the wealth generated by five decades of oil extraction.

Heavily-armed criminal gangs, funded by a lucrative trade in stolen oil, have taken advantage of the breakdown in law and order to stage robberies and kidnappings for ransom.

Several hundred foreigners have been seized since early 2006 but most have been released unharmed.

(Reuters)

Shell Employees Kidnapped

Bayelsa State police command has commenced investigation into the alleged kidnap of two officials of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) along Okordia/Zarama road in the old Yenagoa local government area of the state.

The kidnapped officers were identified as Mr. Michael Obikaun and Mrs. Favour Dappah of the inspectorate division of the Anglo Dutch oil giant, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

According to a statement issued by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Iniobong Ibokette (DSP), the kidnappers trailed the officials from Port Harcourt and finally swooped on them along the Okordia/Zarama road.

The kidnappers armed with dangerous weapons, were said to have shot indiscriminately into the air ostensibly to frighten away any would be intruder before whisking them away in a dark brown Mercedes Benz 190 E car to an unknown destination.

Vanguard reliably learnt that the kidnapped officials were on supervision of on-going electrification project at Okordia/Zarama community.

“The state command is making concerted efforts to track down the perpetrators of the heinous crime,” said the state police public relations officer.

Reacting to the development, the people of Okordia kingdom yesterday condemned the abduction of the SPDC supervisors executing the electrification project in the area.

The traditional ruler of the kingdom, King Richard Seibai in an interview with newsmen described the action as barbaric and anti-development especially at a time efforts are being made to provide sustainable development.

He pleaded with the state government to come to their aid and arrest the situation by bringing the culprits to book and promised to work with government to arrest the situation.

The king also appealed to government to deploy officers of the Joint Task Force to beef up security in the kingdom and for Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to prevail on its workers to return to site.

(Vanguard)

Children of Oil Worker Kidnapped in P.H.

Gunmen on Tuesday kidnapped two children of a Nigerian oil worker in Port Harcourt, the country's oil hub, the police said.Rivers state police spokesperson Rita Abbey said Chinonso and Uchechi Ajanaku were abducted on their way to school and taken to an unknown location.No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction, the latest in recent months.Oil-rich Nigeria has seen a spate of kidnappings of local and foreign workers and relatives of prominent politicians in the past two years, often by criminal gangs seeking a ransom, but sometimes also for political ends.

Pirate Problem Persists

The United Nations has called for an international response to a growing threat from seaborne pirates attacking oil facilities, ships and towns on or around the coast of West Africa.
Western and other nations have already sent warships to fight the pirates threatening shipping off the Horn of Africa.

But on the other side of the continent, heavily-armed gunmen in fast launches have in the last year preyed on oil plants, oil and fishing boats and even coastal towns in a region grouping the main African suppliers of crude oil to the West and China.

Seaborne raiders initially focused on Nigeria's Niger Delta, where militants are battling the government over oil revenues. But more recently raiders have robbed banks and confronted security forces in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Benin.

"There is indeed a common threat in the Gulf of Guinea and there is a need for a collective response to that threat," Ambassador Said Djinnit, the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Representative for West Africa, told Reuters.

In an interview late on Tuesday, Djinnit said the problem straddled both West and Central Africa, which share the Gulf of Guinea. He urged navies from the United States and Europe to help local security forces with training, patrol vessels and equipment.

"I believe there must also be a role for the U.N. at some point, in trying to mobilise the countries of the region and major stakeholders in facilitating a concerted, integrated approach," he added, speaking in Cape Verde on the sidelines of a West African conference on drug-trafficking.

He said criminal activity in the Gulf of Guinea had become intertwined with local insurgencies.
"Armed groups ... are perceived to be bandits initially, and then they start making some political claims ... so it's a new area where pirates, bandits essentially, have seen an opportunity in the prevailing insecurity, in the so-called marginalisation of some regions, and in conflict," he said.

BANDITS, REBELS OR BOTH?

He said the lawlessness was comparable with Somalia; the Sahel region encompassing northern Niger and Mali; and the region where the borders of Chad, Central African Republic and Cameroon meet.

Here too, local rebellions were enmeshed with widespread smuggling and the activities of highway bandits, known locally in French as "coupeurs de route".

Recent attacks by armed men in speedboats on soldiers in Cameroon's border peninsula of Bakassi, which was formally ceded by neighbouring Nigeria in August, have been claimed by little-known groups calling themselves the Niger Delta Defence and Security Council or the Bakassi Freedom Fighters.

Their commanders have said in public statements they are fighting for compensation for Nigerian fishermen and their families who say they are being forced to leave the peninsula, which is reported to have significant oil reserves.

But some security experts believe they could be marauding Nigerian oil militants carrying their guerrilla war from the creeks of the Niger Delta over the eastern border into Cameroon.

"The security problem in Bakassi is related to the security problem in the Niger Delta and the larger Gulf of Guinea," Djinnit added. He said a distinction should be made between real grievances over local governance issues and sheer banditry.

In late September, armed raiders, believed by Cameroon to have come from Nigeria, stormed ashore from speedboats under cover of darkness to blast their way into banks in the Cameroonian coastal town of Limbe. They killed one person, fought off soldiers and carried away cash.

Since then, Nigeria and Cameroon have pledged to cooperate to improve border security. The United States said last week it was providing Angola with ships, radar and intelligence to prevent it becoming a target of seaborne crime.

Nigeria has in the past contributed 18 percent of U.S. oil imports but that share has been reduced by Niger Delta violence. Experts say the Gulf of Guinea as a whole is expected to supply 25 percent of U.S. oil needs in coming years.

(Reuters)

News Blogger Detained in Abuja

A US-based Nigerian news blogger is being held without charge by Nigeria's secret service.
Jonathan Elendu was taken into custody on Saturday when he arrived in the capital, Abuja, on a family visit.


The State Security Service (SSS) has refused to allow his lawyers access to him and denied him a medical visit.


Elendureports.com is one of a number of diaspora-run "citizen reporting" websites about Nigeria and is known for publishing controversial stories.


According to Nigerian law anyone arrested must be charged in court within 48 hours, but correspondents say the rule is frequently broken.


The SSS told Mr Elendu's lawyer that Mr Elendu had not been "arrested", but "invited" for talks at their headquarters.


There haven't been many really controversial stories about the president on Elendureports.com in the last few months according to Lawyer Ugo Muoma


An SSS spokesman said he was being investigated for "acts of sedition", but refused to give details.


Spokesman Kene Chukwu also told the BBC that Mr Elendu's detention had followed legal rules.


"I am telling you all the legal rules were followed, and you have to accept it," Mr Chukwu said.


Mr Elendu's lawyer says he has not spoken to his client since his arrest.


"They have not pressed any charges and have not allowed anyone to see him," said Ugo Muoma.


He said he was filing papers in court to force the SSS to charge or release Mr Elendu.


Elendureports.com operates from Lansing in Michigan and publishes often controversial stories about Nigerian politicians, accusing some of them of corruption and other crimes.
Their stories are often based on anonymous sources.


President's son


Another US-based Nigerian news website, Saharareporters.com, quotes anonymous sources as saying Mr Elendu may have been arrested because of photographs it published a few months ago showing President Umaru Yar'Adua's son.

Elendureports.com once mistakenly reported that Mr Yar'Adua had died


The Saharareporters.com pictures, which caused a stir in the local media at the time, showed 13-year-old Musa Yar'Adua waving wads of money around and holding a policeman's gun.


But Saharareporters.com says Mr Elendu is not a member of their staff and has nothing to do with the photographs.


International media rights groups Reporters Without Borders has called for Mr Elendu's release.
"There haven't been many really controversial stories about the president on Elendureports.com in the last few months," said Mr Muoma.


During the election campaign in 2007, Elendureports.com claimed that Mr Yar'Adua had died during a medical trip to Germany.


Two foreign journalists have been detained and deported by the SSS for reporting in the politically sensitive oil-rich Niger Delta region over the last few months.


In September, six local reporters and media executives were detained and questioned after a television channel reported, after receiving a hoax e-mail, that the president planned to resign.



(BBC)

Pirates Seize Fishing Boats

Pirates still in action not in Somalia but in Nigeria, whose waters are considered to be the second most dangerous in the world after the ones of the Horn of Africa country. According to shipping company sources , the pirates, within a few hours, attacked and seized eight fishing boats in the open sea off the coast of the southern state of Bavelsa. They took a total of 96 members of the various crews as prisoners . Presently their fate is unknown. According to IMB (the International Maritime Bureau), the number of piracy episodes ascertained at a world level during the first six months of 2008 add up to at least 114, a little less than the 126 cases registered during the same period of last year. Since June though, there has been a further and remarkable increase in boarding attempts.

(AGI)

Navy Attacked

Gunmen in speedboats attacked Nigerian navy vessels guarding the country's main crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals on Wednesday, the Nigerian military and security sources said.

The attackers hit gunboats protecting Bonny Island in the Niger Delta, home to an LNG terminal whose exports make up close to 10 percent of world supply and to Nigeria's biggest crude oil export facility, operated by Royal Dutch Shell.

"The intention was likely to surprise our troops, capture arms, ammunition and if possible snatch our gunboat," Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, a spokesman for the joint military taskforce in the delta, told Reuters.

He said six speedboats had attacked navy gunboats close to the LNG terminal but that the gunmen were repelled. A member of the taskforce was wounded and several of the attackers were killed when two of their boats were sunk, Musa said.

No group has claimed responsibility.

The strike in the very heart of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry is the first since the region's main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), announced a ceasefire last month after a plea from elders.

The ceasefire followed six straight days of attacks in the eastern delta which forced Shell to warn it could not guarantee to meet oil export obligations from Bonny.

Industry executives say continued insecurity, as well as chronic funding problems hampering joint ventures with the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC), mean production is stagnating in the world's eighth-biggest exporter.

Nigeria's foreign minister said this week that oil output was down to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), although the oil minister put the figure at 2 million bpd a few weeks earlier.

THREAT TO LNG

Militants in the Niger Delta have shut down around a fifth of Nigeria's oil production since early 2006 with a campaign of pipeline bombings and attacks on oil facilities, but the country's LNG exports have largely escaped the violence.

LNG is made by cooling and condensing gas to a liquid that is one six-hundredth its normal volume. It is shipped in special tankers to markets including Europe and the United States, and is generally considered more secure than oil exports.

Strong global demand for LNG as an alternative energy supply, particularly as volatile oil prices add to havoc in consumer economies, has heightened interest in Nigeria's gas reserves, estimated at 180 trillion cubic feet.

But insecurity is a major deterrent to new investment.

A worker in the Bonny LNG plant said he heard shooting which seemed to be less than half a kilometre from his living quarters. A private security source working in the oil industry said the assailants had fled into the narrow creeks around Bonny Island and that they may return for another strike.

Shell said it could not immediately confirm any details.

Bonny, in the southern Niger Delta, is home to Nigeria's only functioning LNG plant, controlled by a group of Western companies including Shell, Total and Eni unit Agip. State oil firm NNPC owns 49 percent.

It is also home to Nigeria's biggest single crude oil export terminal by volume, which is owned by SPDC, a joint venture in which Shell holds 30 percent and NNPC holds 55 percent. Local subsidiaries of Total and Agip hold the rest.

(Reuters)

Dynamite, Arms Recovered

The Nigerian military said on Thursday it had recovered dynamite, arms and ammunition from gunmen who attacked navy vessels guarding the country's main crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals.

The attackers hit gunboats late on Wednesday guarding Bonny Island, home to an LNG terminal whose exports make up close to 10 percent of world supply and to Nigeria's biggest crude oil export facility, operated by Royal Dutch Shell.

"One general purpose machine gun, one AK-47 rifle, one sub-machine gun, assorted ammunition ... and some quantity of dynamite were recovered from the militants," said Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, a military spokesman in the Niger Delta.

The attack in the heart of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry was the first significant strike since the region's main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), announced a ceasefire last month.

No group has claimed responsibility.

The LNG plant at Bonny is controlled by Western companies including Shell, Total and Eni unit Agip. State oil firm NNPC owns 49 percent.

Bonny is also home to Nigeria's biggest single crude oil export terminal by volume, which is owned by SPDC, a joint venture in which Shell holds 30 percent and NNPC holds 55 percent.
Local subsidiaries of Total and Agip hold the rest.

(Reuters)

Nigeria & Cameroon Pledge Cooperation on Border Security

Nigeria and Cameroon have agreed to work together to protect their land and sea border from attacks by militants and pirates and to fight illegal trafficking of arms, drugs, oil products and migrants.

Minutes seen by Reuters on Monday from a weekend meeting in Yaounde of a joint commission of the oil-producing Gulf of Guinea neighbours pledged closer security cooperation along their 1,700 km (1,062-mile) frontier, including joint patrols.

The 12-page document said the measures would seek to respond to "cross-border attacks by militants, illicit arms sales, illegal bunkering of petroleum products, contraband, incessant militant and pirate attacks both within territorial and international waters of the two countries, drugs and human trafficking, as well as activities of armed resistance groups".

Authorities in Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer, are fighting a war against Niger Delta militants who often use fast launches to attack army posts and oil installations, sometimes striking at ships and rigs far out to sea in the Gulf of Guinea.

Cameroon is worried about this violence spilling over into its own territory and the government announced on Sunday it was reinforcing security on its own 360 km (225-mile) Atlantic coastline by installing radar and stepping up military patrols.

This followed an attack on September 28 against the Cameroonian coastal town of Limbe in which armed raiders in speedboats stormed ashore and robbed four banks, killing one person.
In their talks, Cameroon and Nigeria agreed to set up a cross-border security body that would establish joint patrols, collaborate in sharing intelligence and investigating crime and undertake joint search and rescue operations if the need arose.

The attack on Limbe was at least the third sea-borne raid of its kind in less than a year on Gulf of Guinea neighbours of Nigeria. Equatorial Guinea and Benin had reported similar raids.

BORDER VIOLENCE

Speaking in Limbe on Sunday, Cameroon's prime minister, Ephraim Inoni, said the September 28 attack surprised the security forces, who he said were under-staffed and poorly equipped.
"That is why we have decided to create a maritime brigade in Limbe, increase the number of forces of law and order there, and to launch radar surveillance of our coastline," he said.

Last month's raiders on Limbe, described as "suspected pirates" by Cameroon state radio, shot dead a local driver and used explosives to blast their way into banks, seizing large sums of money. They barricaded roads into the town, repelled Cameroonian soldiers and shot up the local prefect's office.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

Cameroon state radio said a sack marked "Port Harcourt Flour Mill Ltd" was left in one bank, suggesting the raiders could be from Nigeria's Niger Delta, where Port Harcourt is a main city.

In August, Nigeria formally handed over control to Cameroon of the oil-rich Bakassi border pensinsula in line with a 2002 International Court of Justice order.

About 50 people have been killed in violence in Bakassi in the past year, including attacks on Cameroonian soldiers.

Worried about insecurity, the navies of the United States and other Western countries have stepped up visits to the area.

The United States imports more than 15 percent of its oil needs from the Gulf of Guinea and this is expected to increase to more than 25 percent by 2015.

(Reuters)

Five Filipino Hostages Released

Five Filipino workers kidnapped from an oil services vessel in southern Nigeria nine days ago have been released unharmed, a military spokesman said on Monday.

The Filipinos were seized on October 4 between the oil hub of Port Harcourt and Bonny in the Niger Delta by about a dozen gunmen. Security sources originally said six had been kidnapped, including the boat's captain and two engineers.

"They have been released," Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, a spokesman for the military taskforce in the Niger Delta, said.

He had no further immediate details.

A security source in the region said the five Filipinos were safe and well and had been taken to the Philipinne embassy in the capital Abuja.

Hundreds of foreigners have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta, the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry, since militants launched a campaign of violence two years ago.

Almost all have been released unharmed. But the insecurity, including the bombing of pipelines and attacks on oil and gas plants, has cut Nigeria's oil production by around a fifth and forced some foreign firms to scale back their operations.

(Reuters)

Cholera Outbreak Reported in Kano State

A cholera outbreak has claimed 20 lives in northern Nigeria's Kano state in the last week, officials and residents said Saturday.

"We have received reports of a cholera outbreak in Rikadawa village in the last week where 20 lives have been lost with about 70 others hospitalised", Ibrahim Muazu, Madobi local government chairman, told AFP.

Residents of the 3,000-strong village, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Kano, said the oubreak started when they started drinking water from a river outside the village because three of the four boreholes in the village were spoilt.

"With the breakdown of three of the four boreholes in the village, we turned to the Kunza river as our source of water and since then we started noticing people falling sick with cholera," said 70-year-old Malam Alhaji Dauda, who lost five grandchildren in the last two days.

Muazu said he had sent personnel to assess the situation and fix the broken boreholes.
Last month about 100 people died of cholera in four northen states.

Cholera is an intestinal bacteria that causes serious diarrhoea and vomiting leading to dehydration. With a short incubation period, it can be fatal if not treated in time.

(AFP)

MEND Cease Fire Threatened

The recent ceasefire by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), was yesterday threatened, following a alleged air raids by operatives of the Joint Military Taskforce on the camps of two militia groups, the Niger Delta Patriotic Force (NDPF) and the Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV).

This is coming few hours after the leadership of the Action Congress (AC) in Rivers State urged Nigerians to pray for the ceasefire called by MEND to be permanent, so as to allow for the continuation of on-going projects across the oil and gas region.

An online statement issued yesterday and signed by MEND spokesman Gbomo Jomo, and made available to Daily Champion alleged that an air raid was carried out by the Air Force arm of the JTF, saying it may provoke other militia groups into engaging in another 'unprecedented war along the creeks and waterways of the region."

The statement read in part: "About 1730 Hrs on Tuesday, September 23, 2008, the Nigerian military still seething with anger from the humiliating defeat in the six-day oil war, launched an unprovoked air assault on the camps of the Niger Delta Patriotic Force (NDPF) and Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV) in an attempt to destabilize the on-going ceasefire.

"The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) condemns this cowardly act and will not play into the hands of the military by retaliating and putting the peace process in jeopardy at this time. It is a well known fact that the Joint Task "Fraud" (JTF) is desperate to showcase its relevance as they will be quickly out of business in an atmosphere of peace.

"Like their cousins the Nigeria Police who stage spates of robberies whenever there is a public outcry for the removal of check points on the road, the military stages such attacks to hoodwink the state governors for additional funding. We also suspect that a peaceful Niger Delta is not beneficial to a section of the country who may want to alter the constitution again in the event that the President may resign due to his ailing health".

"Tropical Storm Vigilant, our heightened state of alert, is still on course and the military and oil companies will soon be hearing from us at the appropriate time. MEND can not vouch for the actions this group may take. We will however use this medium to notify the public on developments as they unfold".

But the Rivers State chapter of the AC through its publicity secretary, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, prayed that the ceasefire called by MEND lasts longer for the region to witness growth.

He said "We just pray that this cease-fire becomes permanent as no meaningful development can take place in war-like situation as the Niger Delta region has been turned into recently.

"With this development, the Federal Government has no further reason to delay moving the relevant machinery and personnel to Niger Delta to hasten the development of a region so wickedly neglected by the past Governments at the centre and the region.

"Julius Berger Plc should commence work immediately on its abandoned projects particularly the dualisation of East-West road that has become a death trap and the fly-over construction at Eleme Junction that means a lot to the people of Rivers State."

He said the period of peace should be used by the government to intensify job creation, revamping and reviving of our moribund industries, improving on our decaying infrastructure and showing signs that Rivers State belongs to all sons and daughters of Rivers State."

(Daily Champion)

NUPENG Threatens Strike Against Chevron

A local branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, or NUPENG, in Nigeria said Wednesday it would begin a strike at Chevron Nigeria Ltd. - a local unit of U.S. oil major Chevron Corp. (CVX) - if the company failed to resolve some labor issues by Oct. 1.

Bernard Ugbi, NUPENG's assistant general secretary in the southern oil city of Warri, said Chevron has been given a 14-day ultimatum to resolve issues on union workers hired and working at all CNL locations in the country as contractors.

He said NUPENG opposed the employment of its members as contractors, adding that the 3,000-5,000 workers involved usually don't qualify for pension, gratuities and other benefits.

He said the contractors were doing the same work as permanent Chevron staff who qualified for pension and other benefits adding: "We want the same for the contract workers."

Ugbi said NUPENG at the national level would join any strike launched by the Warri chapter.
CNL said it was engaging with all parties to resolve the issues through dialogue and respect for rule of law.

A Chevron spokesman in Nigeria contacted by Dow Jones declined to comment further.

(CNNMoney.com)

MEND Decries Government Attacks

Nigeria's main oil militant group has accused the army of launching air attacks on its allies' camps.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) declared a unilateral ceasefire three days ago.

A Nigerian army spokesman told the BBC that he was unaware of any air strikes on Tuesday.
Mend said it would not be drawn by military tactics into jeopardising the peace process and would continue observing its ceasefire.

Groups such as Mend claim to be fighting for greater control over oil wealth in the impoverished Niger Delta, but they are accused of making money from criminal rackets and trade in stolen oil.

Threat to end truce

Mend said camps belonging to the Niger Delta Patriotic Force and the Niger Delta Vigilante had been targeted in the attacks.

Mend will not play into the hands of the military by retaliating.

Militant statement

Earlier in the month, the militants had declared "war" on Nigeria's oil industry after a fierce military raid on one of their bases.

Mend declared a ceasefire after appeals from local leaders, but it warned it would end the truce if attacked by the army again.

"Mend will not play into the hands of the military by retaliating and putting the peace process in jeopardy at this time," the group said in an e-mailed statement, Reuters news agency reports.
Recent violence has been the worst in two years and on Saturday oil giant Shell was forced to declare a "force majeure" - which frees it from contractual obligations - on crude oil shipments from its Niger Delta facilities.

Nigeria's oil production has been cut by 20% because of unrest in the region over the past few years.

When President Umaru Yar'Adua came to power last year he promised to tackle the problems of the Niger Delta.

Recently, his government announced that a new ministry would be formed to deal with the crisis.

A Niger Delta minister is expected to be appointed this week when the president unveils his new cabinet.

(BBC)

Andrew Berends Update

For an update on Andrew Berends, the independent film producer arrested in Nigeria earlier this month, check out http://www.thefilmpanelnotetaker.com/2008/09/latest-update-from-andrew-berends.html

Suspected Militants Arrested at PH

The Joint Task Force (JTF) in Rivers State has arrested 219 suspected militants during an early morning raid on notorious water front settlements used by militants as hide-outs in Port-Harcourt, the state capital.

Brig. Gen. Bello Sarkin Yaki, the JTF commander in Rivers State disclosed this yesterday, during an interactive session with journalists. The arrests are coming on the heels of the unilateral ceasefire declared by militants on Sunday, in the state after a week of gun fights between the military and militants during which the military commander confirmed seven militants were
killed.

He said the suspected militants were arrested at Abonema, Diobu, UTC, Njemanze, Afikpo, Nnaka, Timber Market and Ekuele water fronts in Port-Harcourt, adding that the dawn raid was carried out based on intelligence reports available to the special military task force. Bello said the suspects, who were arrested in what he described as known "bad spots" have been handed over to the police for prosecution.

Our correspondent reports that the pre-emptive move by the military task force is to thwart attempts by militants, alleged to be re-grouping in various parts of Port-Harcourt, preparatory to unleashing a reign of violence and terror on innocent citizens, having been dislodged from the creeks by the military.

While reinstating the preparedness of the JTF to continue its clamp down on known bases and other spots used by militants to perpetuate their activities, he assured that the military task force is committed to restoring law and order to Rivers State.

The JTF commander said 99.9 per cent of the camps operated by militants in the state have been identified by the special military unit, saying, "We know where they are and they are at our finger tips".

On the truce declared by the militants, Brig. Gen. Bello said while the military top brass in the country welcome the development, the ceasefire, he however explained, would not prevent the JTF from discharging its responsibility of maintaining security in all parts of the state, whether on land or water.

He, therefore, advised the militants to go beyond the ceasefire and lay down their arms and explore peaceful alternatives to channel their demands to the Federal Government. Bello dismissed insinuations that the military killed civilians and attacked civilian habitations during the clashes with militants in the state, adding that the JTF has rules of engagement and a code of conduct that guides its operations.

(AllAfrica)

Armed Conflict Affects Medical Care

Medical care has taken a continued dip in the Niger Delta in over two years of armed conflicts orchestrated by militancy, kidnappings and oil sabotage, said National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

The NARD, rising from its annual scientific conference and general meeting in Port Harcourt, announced there was a significant drop in medical care in the region "because of the increased armed conflicts within the region."

NARD national president, Owhondah Golden, said the relevant health care indices such as infant and maternal mortality rates had experienced a continued upward movement in the region, reaching an alarming rate, saying oil exploration in the region, spanning five decades, had shored up several diseases among the region’s people. Okongwu Chinedu, secretary general of the group, said noted that "the disease burden in the region has been on the increase due to pollution of its environment, ongoing oil exploration and inadequate health care delivery system in the area."

The doctors are appealing fervently to the Federal Government and governments of the region, to act fast in checking the conflicts, that have ultimately caused medical personnel to generally shun administering drugs and health care to those who need attention in the area. The doctors have therefore pledged that they "would pursue rural outreach health programme to assist in realising the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in collaboration with the local governments of the country.

A recent survey by United Nations Human Development index said over 70 percent of the population of the Niger Delta live below the poverty line, less than $1 a day.
The region, which is the third largest wetland in the world, has a steadily growing population, now put at over 40 million people as of 2006, accounting for more than 23 percent of Nigeria’s population of over 140 million.

(Business Day)

Army Vows to Continue Fight in Delta

Nigeria's army said on Monday it would continue to fight criminal gangs in the oil-producing Niger Delta, underlining the fragility of a ceasefire declared by the region's main militant group.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) declared a temporary ceasefire on Sunday after a week of attacks on oil platforms, pipelines, flow stations and gas plants in the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.

The six days of violence cut Nigeria's oil output by at least 150,000 barrels per day and forced Royal Dutch Shell to warn it may not be able to meet contractual obligations on shipments of crude from the country.

The army welcomed the ceasefire announcement but said that its strategy of fighting a network of criminal gangs involved in crude oil theft and kidnappings for ransom in the Niger Delta remained unchanged.

"We are not at war, so the issue of a ceasefire does not arise," said Brigadier-General Mohammed Yusuf, spokesman for Nigeria's defence headquarters.

"If the restive youths are actually ready to lay down their arms, then we will change our tactics. If there is no crime, then we will change our tactics. All we want is peace for the development of the area," he said.

Security experts say a loose coalition of various armed groups operate under the MEND franchise in the anarchic delta, where foreign oil firms including Shell, Chevron, Total and Agip have interests.

MEND launched what it described as an "oil war" in the delta, a vast network of mangrove creeks in southern Nigeria, just over a week ago in response to what it said were unprovoked air and sea attacks by the security forces on one of its bases.

It warned in Sunday's ceasefire declaration, announced after a plea by elders, that it would resume its campaign of sabotage against the oil industry if it came under attack again.
Ateke Tom, one militia leader whose group claimed attacks on at least two oil flow stations during last week's strikes, warned that the ceasefire could be lifted at any time.

"This will depend on the military and the government," he told Reuters by telephone from the creeks.

Successive Nigerian leaders have pledged to pacify the Niger Delta, where resentment against the oil industry runs high among impoverished villagers but where criminal gangs also grow rich from a trade in stolen crude and kidnappings for ransom.

President Umaru Yar'Adua this month created a Ministry for the Niger Delta meant to address the instability by developing the region and "empowering" its frustrated youths.

Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, who is from the delta, set up a new panel to look at how to bring about lasting peace, but it is charged with reviewing all previous reports on the problem since 1958 and has been dismissed by the militants as the latest in a string of endless committees and proposals.

(Reuters)

Hostages Reportedly Released

Two South Africans held hostage by Nigeria's main militant group for ten days have been freed, SA officials confirmed.

Captives, Dan Laarman and Robert Berrie with three other international oil workers, including two Britons and one Ukrainian were taken hostage on 9 September, when their vessel was captured by unknown gunmen.

Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it handed over the two to government secret service agents and expected them to be presented to South African government officials in Port Harcourt."Duo was handed over to government secret service officials at 11 pm on Thursday night, who will in turn hand them over to representatives of South African high commission," said Jomo Gbomo a spokesperson MEND.

Mr Laarman was in Nigeria on a month-long contract with Hydrodive Nigeria to work on Chevron oil rigs.Release of two south Africans was confirmed by South African high commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Stix Sifingo, said Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, expressed appreciation on behalf of her government to Nigerian authorities for helping to bring about a resolution to the matter.Militant groups attack oil installations and kidnap expatriate workers, saying they are fighting for a greater share of profits from oil exploitation for the poor.Mr Laarman's parents, Will and Ingrid, said on Friday when they received the news from their Cosmos home on Hartbeespoort Dam near Pretoria they were overjoyed.

"When I heard Dan's voice over the phone on Friday afternoon, it felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. It was a very emotional experience for me," Ingrid said.

Meanwhile MEND said it rescued 27 hostages from group that had been kidnapped but would hold on to 25 remaining hostages, until Henry Okah who is the leader and was released from prison.

However two South Africans were released because Mr Okah's wife, who lives in South Africa, said South African government treated her and her children well.Last month two German hostages employed by a local unit of Manheim based construction company Bilfinger Berger were also set free by militants group after they were abducted by kidnappers.

(Afrol News)

Bloody Week in the Niger Delta

Even by the usual violent standards of Nigeria's conflict-ridden, oil-rich southern Niger Delta region, it has been a bloody seven days, with dozens of civilian casualties and many more wounded or displaced, according to local observers, in clashes in Rivers state between the military and rebel fighters.

The clashes - reportedly the heaviest in two years in the region - were sparked on 13 September when government security forces allegedly razed the villages of Soku, Kula, and Tombia, in Rivers state while looking for Farah Dagogo, a member of rebel group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

Civilians caught in crossfire

"I got distress calls from the affected areas saying two of the villages had been razed to the ground, and there was an urgent need for medical teams to go there, but it was not possible for us to go." said Chika Onah with the Nigerian Red Cross (NRC) in Port Harcourt.

Ongoing insecurity has cut off access to parts of Rivers state, making it hard for disaster workers to count how many of the estimated 20,000 inhabitants in the three towns have fled, according to NRC.

Nevertheless, Onah told IRIN civilian casualties are high. "There is no way the civilian population will not suffer in this kind of attack."

Local human rights workers told IRIN they were caught in helicopter and boat gunfire. Sofiri Joad Peterside, a human rights campaigner in the Delta told IRIN, "These were aerial strikes without clear targets. What we are calling for right now is an independent assessor to determine the extent of civilian vulnerability to all these strikes."

He said the violence hit civilians directly. "The centre of the violence was full of civilians. We live in riverine areas and in every riverine area, you have a forest where people go to pick seafood, and you have a community."

But Nigerian army spokesman, Emeka Onwuamaegbu, said the military did not carry out a full-scale offensive. "We are applying minimum force in tackling the situation...we cannot go all out to kill our own people. Can we?"

Surge in violence

On 14 September, MEND declared war against foreign-owned oil companies working in the Delta, pledging to destroy oil pipelines and flow stations, and warning companies to evacuate their staff and stop pumping. MEND claims five attacks since its oil war threat.

Rebels have escalated attacks in recent months against oil production spots, according to locals who do not want to reveal their identities because of the region's volatility.

A government effort to reign in oil smuggling by shutting down 200 illegal oil refineries in the past two months has sparked more fighting, according to the governmental Joint Military Task Force.

The Niger Delta, 70,000 kilometres of mostly wetlands, is home to some 20 million people who sit atop more than 30 billion barrels of top grade crude oil, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

The region's oil production has slumped after periodic attacks by local rebels who say criminal gangs and government military forces are siphoning and smuggling oil wealth, leaving behind polluted, malaria-infested, lawless marshlands that have seen little return from oil revenues.

'If you drink our water, you'll get sick'

Oil revenue from the Delta will amount to US$66 billion in 2008, according to an August 2008 report by the UK-based Centre for Global Energy Studies, but Delta residents say they see little of this money invested in the delta communities surrounding the oil fields.

Rebel leader Tom Polo in Wari, in western Delta, told IRIN, "We are suffering in the Niger Delta. If you drink our water, you'll get sick. They [the government] are not doing anything for us. Every day they say oil prices have gone up, but we don't see any tangible benefits from it."

He said the government has not given back to local communities. "If you go to other countries that are rich in oil, they build first-class universities in oil-producing communities, but here there is nothing like that."

Government spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi pledges more development, but says security must come first. "The government takes the Niger Delta very seriously. It is one of the seven key priorities of this administration...we are doing everything possible to improve living conditions in the Delta, but the security forces will continue to check the excesses of all those seeking to exploit the situation to make money through criminal tendencies."

Red Cross worker Onah says spiralling criminality is hampering efforts to protect civilians. "The issue in the Niger Delta has now gone beyond the struggle for a greater share of the region's resources. If they [criminal gangs masquerading as militants] can kidnap a one-year old baby or a sixty-year old grandmother, organisations like ours that want to help have to be very, very careful."

Government tries to quell violence

On 10 September 2008, the Nigerian cabinet appointed a new ministry for the region.
Presidential spokesman, Olusegun Adeniyi, announced the ministry's plans to "tackle the challenges of infrastructural development, environmental protection and youth empowerment in the region. We believe this is an important step in building confidence about this government's plans for the Niger Delta."

In 2000, the government set up a similar Niger Delta Development Commission to relieve poverty in the region, hoping this would end unrest. But the commission lacked funding and astute management, according to most analysts.

Tony Uranta, executive secretary of the non-governmental United Niger Delta Energy Development and Security Strategy, says the government needs to honour its promises if fighting is going to end- definitively.

Coming out of a meeting with President Umaru Yar'Adua on 19 September, he told IRIN, "It is a mistake to approach the Delta problem as a security problem rather than a development or justice problem. There is a bit of sincerity [from the government] beginning to show but it is still early. Once we see this sincerity in action...there will be changes for the better in the region."

As the two sides wrangle over oil wealth distribution, Samuel Atori, a Delta native and founder of the Abuja-based Izon Prayer Network, concluded, "When two elephants wrestle, the grass suffers."

(VOA)

MEND Declares Cease Fire

Nigeria's main militant group has declared a cease-fire in the southern oil region after a week of stepped-up attacks on the military and oil infrastructure.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta says it will cease hostilities immediately after appeals from elders and politicians in the region where fighting has flared over the past week.

The group said Sunday in a statement it would launch another spate of reprisal attacks in the event of another military raid on one of the group's base camps. A military operation on Sept. 14 prompted the latest surge in violence.

(AP)

Nigeria's main militant group began a unilateral ceasefire on Sunday after a week of clashes with the military and attacks on oil installations which have cut output in Africa's top producer.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) launched strikes against pipelines, flow stations and other oil and gas facilities last Sunday in response to what it said were ground and air strikes by the military against one of its bases.

"We decided to 'stop outside Baghdad' even at a time of victory over the military and utter helplessness of the oil companies," the group said in an e-mailed statement.

"Effective 0100 hours (0000 GMT) September 21, exactly one week after we launched our reprisal, MEND will begin a unilateral ceasefire till further notice."

Nigerian government officials have said production has fallen by 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) over the past week, and estimate the country's current output at 1.95 million bpd.

MEND said it had taken the decision after a plea by elders but warned it would restart its campaign if it came under attack from the security forces. It also warned that other groups aligned with it may not respect the ceasefire.

A spokesman for the joint military taskforce (JTF) which polices the Niger Delta cautiously welcomed MEND's announcement but said the group must demonstrate it could keep its word.

"We will continue to carefully and firmly monitor the situation, and exercise some level of restraint until their declaration is seen to have been actualised," Lieutenant-Colonel Sagir Musa told Reuters.

"We are hoping it will not be another tactical deception which we have already prepared to contend," he said.

MEND has announced ceasefires in the past but subsequently relaunched attacks, claiming provocation by the security forces or by the government.

PRODUCTION IMPACT

MEND has carried out at least six attacks in as many days over the past week, its most intense campaign for years against the world's eighth biggest oil exporter.
Royal Dutch Shell, the company hardest hit by the violence, declared a force majeure on shipments of Bonny Light, a type of crude oil, effective from Friday. Force majeure is a contractual clause invoked by suppliers when they cannot meet their obligations due to events beyond their control.

Such intensity of attacks across the eastern Niger Delta, a vast network of mangrove creeks, has made assessing the impact difficult as engineers scramble to investigate exactly how much production has been hit in each location.

Shell -- which operates onshore in Nigeria in a joint venture with state run oil firm NNPC -- has given no figures.

Oil workers' union PENGASSAN accused the government of a "lacklustre" approach to reaching a permanent ceasefire in the region and warned that Angola -- which vies with Nigeria for the position of Africa's top producer -- would soon eclipse it.

"Because of the protracted crisis ... Angola has become the alternative haven of oil investors," it said in a statement.

The militants say they want greater development and a better living environment after decades of neglect in the delta. But the unrest is fuelled by a lucrative trade in stolen oil worth millions of dollars a day.

Security experts say the region will never be stable unless an alternative source of income can be found for the gunmen, businessmen, politicians and international shippers all taking their slice of the illegal profits.

(Reuters)

Chief of Defense Staff not Intimidated

The Nigerian Armed Forces will not be intimidated by militants operating in the Niger Delta to abdicate its responsibility to defend the country, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshall Paul Dike, has said.

Dike said the military was committed to its constitutional duty of defending the territorial integrity of the country, particularly in the Niger Delta, "and nobody can intimidate the military forces into abdicating that responsibility."

The CDS made the remarks yesterday while on a working visit to the headquarters of the Joint (military) Task Force (JTF) in Warri, Delta State.

He was accompanied on the visit by military top brass which included the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Adbulra-hman Bello Danbazau.

Also yesterday, former Delta State Governor James Ibori sued for peace over the escalation of hostilities in the Niger Delta

He said: "If there is a season for everything under the sun as the Bible says, there being a time for war and a time for peace, then this is the time for cessation of hostilities in the entire Niger Delta."

Militants operating in the Niger Delta have declared an all out war, attacking and destroying oil facilities.

In the offensive launched last weekend, two flow stations in Rivers State believed to be operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Agip were attacked, leaving the militants and men of the JTF to trade accusations over the attacks.

The attacks on the oil facilities, which have allegedly resulted in more oil shut-ins were carried out as Dike visited military installations in Rivers State to assess the security situation.

Dike, who reaffirmed the position of the armed forces, however, admonished all military personnel to adhere to their professional disciplinary norms in order to effectively deliver on their constitutional obligation.

In a subtle but firm response to the reported threat of "full-scale war" on the country's security personnel in the area by militants, the CDS stressed that the military would continue to work for the restoration of peace in the area.

He also charged the officers and men to respect the people especially the civilian population in their area of national service, but avoid any act that could tarnish the image of the armed forces.

He, however, expressed satisfaction with the level of performance by the JTF personnel, saying the on-the-spot assessment of the troops' battle-readiness was the primary reason for his visit.

In his statement last night, Ibori said: "Having heard the anguished cry of the people of the South-South, President Umaru Yar'Adua is determined to end the suffering of the people, and has therefore approved a large scale intervention in the form of the Niger Delta Ministry to reverse the decades old under-development which the area has suffered.

"So, what is called for now is discussion over the activities and funding of the ministry and how best to make it meet the aspirations of the people. Owing to this, I call on all persons of goodwill to join in this peace effort. Hostilities must cease to give the development process the Federal Government has put in place now the chance to succeed.

"War is like malignant cancer; it usually spreads uncontrollably to other areas. Therefore both sides must listen to the voice of wisdom and stop the conflagration - now."

Ibori called on the angry youths of the Niger Delta to have faith in the President and his new initiative.

According to him, "The Niger Delta and Nigeria need their energy re-channelled into really productive ventures. The educated among them should be encouraged to contribute their talents to the needed battle of speeding Nigeria and Africa on the part of swift development and global respect, and themselves towards personal fulfilment and glory. "The uneducated must face intellectual and skill acquisition to enable them compete in the national and global space.

"Fortunately, the focus of the new ministry is two-pronged. While one corrects the abysmal lack of infrastructure in the area, the other faces the task of upgrading the intellectual and talent pool of the area."

According to Ibori, the youths of the area must take advantage of this by ending the hostilities; emerge from their camps and exploit the opportunities that now beckon.

To the militants, he said: "You have made your point. The whole world now knows that your grievances are genuine, and for the first time, the Federal Government is truly addressing them.
In every journey, there is always a place to stop. Your predecessor in arms, the late Major Isaac Adaka Boro realised this, came out from the bush, and reintegrated himself into the society - after leading the first Niger Delta uprising in the 1960s. You too must do like-wise."

In Port Harcourt yesterday, Dike also expressed satisfaction with the performance of JTF, though he said there might be some areas needing improvements.

The CDS thanked Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi for providing a conducive environment for their men to operate in addition to helping out with some logistics.

He called for further cooperation between the state and the armed forces, pointing out that such cooperation had existed right from the time of the civil war.

Responding, Amaechi pleaded with Dike to do everything possible to improve on the present security situation in the state.

He regretted that those he called criminals masquerading as freedom fighters had unleashed terror on the state, but expressed happiness that JTF was working to restore normalcy.

In Bayelsa, the state Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, asked the Federal Government to urgently consider the establishment of a military command in the state.

Sylva made the call when Dike and Dambazau paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Yenagoa.

He said the call became imperative due to the strategic position of Bayelsa as a border state and one of the highest producers of oil, the mainstay of the nation's economy.

(allAfrica.com)

Shell Declares Second Force Majeure

Royal Dutch Shell said on Saturday it had declared a second force majeure on crude oil shipments from Nigeria following militant attacks in recent days on its facilities in the Niger Delta.

Shell last week extended a force majeure, which frees it from contractual obligations, on Bonny oil exports from Nigeria following a militant attack in late July.

It said it had declared the second force majeure on Bonny Light shipments on Friday, following further attacks by militants this week.

MEND Continues Assaults on Pipelines

Nigerian militants said on Saturday they had destroyed another major oil pipeline in the Niger Delta after a week of the most intense attacks against Africa's biggest oil and gas industry for years.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it had attacked a pipeline operated by Royal Dutch Shell at Buguma Front in Rivers state late on Friday and warned its campaign was not over.

A Shell spokeswoman in Nigeria said the company was investigating the claim, but gave no further details.

The Anglo-Dutch giant, the company hardest hit by the violence, declared a second force majeure on Bonny Light oil shipments on Friday following the week's unrest but gave no details on production.

"MEND will continue to nibble every day at the oil infrastructure in Nigeria until the oil exports reach zero," the group said in an e-mailed statement.

MEND fighters have hit pipelines, flow stations and oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta every day since last Sunday, when the group declared an "oil war" in response to what it said were military ground and air strikes.

Shell operates onshore in Nigeria through its SPDC joint venture, of which it holds 30 percent while state oil firm NNPC holds 55 percent. Local subsidiaries of France's Total and Italy's Agip hold the rest.

Shell had already been forced to extend a force majeure on Nigerian Bonny Light exports, which frees it from contractual obligations, following an attack on a major pipeline in July.

Such intensity of attacks across the eastern Niger Delta, a vast network of mangrove creeks, makes assessing the impact difficult as engineers scramble to investigate exactly how much production has been hit in each location.

Nigerian government officials have said production has fallen by 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) over the past week, and estimate the country's current output at 1.95 million bpd.

INTENSE AND SUSTAINED

The attacks this week have largely been limited to Rivers state in the eastern Niger Delta but MEND has warned it may extend its campaign to other areas on- and off-shore.

The violence has been the most intense and sustained since MEND first launched its campaign of sabotage in early 2006, and has included relatively rare direct confrontation with the army.

The world oil market, which has largely focused on the fallout from the credit crisis, has found some support from the situation. Prices traded above $100 on Friday.

MEND said it had launched this week's campaign -- an operation it calls "Hurricane Barbarossa" -- in response to air and naval attacks on one of its bases in Rivers state.

"When (Rivers state governor Rotimi) Amaechi took over, the government just said that they must kill me and my boys," one militant leader, Ateke Tom, told Reuters television this week.

"That is why we are fighting back," he said, surrounded by heavily armed fighters.

The militants want greater development and a better living environment after decades of neglect in the delta, where impoverished villagers live among polluted land and water.

The unrest is fuelled by a lucrative trade in stolen oil worth millions of dollars a day.

Security experts say the region will never be stable unless an alternative source of income can be found for the gunmen, businessmen, politicians and international shippers all taking their slice of the illegal profits.

(Reuters)

MEND Claims More Attacks Against Shell

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) on Thursday launched a new attack on a Shell Development Company pipeline in Rivers state of Nigeria.

In the statement sent via e-mail, the most prominent rebel group in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region said its members had destroyed a major pipeline belonging to Shell Development Company at the Elem- Kalabari Cawthorne Channel axis in the southeastern state of Rivers.

SAD WEEK FOR OIL FIRMS

Besides the new attack, MEND, who has been in intense fighting with Nigerian government forces since Sept. 13, had allegedly destroyed three more oil pipelines in Rivers state.

Meanwhile, several oil flow stations and gas plants have also been blown up in Rivers state since last Saturday.

The rebel group has ordered oil companies to evacuate their workers and foreign vessels to leave ports in Nigeria's oil region to avoid militant attacks, warning that it will extend the "oil war" to neighboring states in the Niger Delta region.

The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has suffered huge losses. Several employees were killed in the attacks.

"Regrettably, a community station guard was killed during the incident... Four other people are being treated for injuries sustained during the incident at the Shell hospital in Port Harcourt," said a SPDC spokesperson in an e-mail when the first attack on Shell's Alakiri flow station, gas plant and field logistics base was reported on Sept. 15.

"SPDC is aware of the difficulty the security situation places on staff, and continues to monitor developments," the spokesperson said.

It was apparently just the beginning of the ongoing battle, and no one can tell when it will end.
Security sources said Nigerian forces need to further prove their capability until attacks on oil facilities in the region were forestalled.

OIL PRODUCTION CRIPPLED

On Sept. 10, Nigerian President Yar'Adua started to reshuffle his government and created a new Ministry of Niger Delta, vowing to promote development and peace in the country's oil-rich area.

But his efforts have apparently been crippled by the fresh fighting between government forces and the rebel group in the region, so has been oil production, the nation's cash cow.

The rampant attacks on Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region have long been a big headache for the Nigerian government.

Since the beginning of 2006, militant groups emerged in the Niger Delta region, fighting for more local control of the region's natural resources, especially oil, through kidnapping oil workers and attacks on oil facilities.

More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped and a string of attacks on oil pipelines, wells and terminals have been registered by now, leading to a drop of about 25 percent oil production compared with the country's peak output of 2.6 million barrels per day.

According to reports from the Associated Press, a spokesman for Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria's state oil company, said Wednesday that militant attacks are now cutting the country's daily oil production by about 1 million barrels a day, putting the country's daily output at around 1.5 million barrels per day, a total loss of 40 percent since the militant campaign began in 2005.

As more than 80 percent of the country's revenue relies on crude oil sales, the oil production shut-in could be a blow big enough to undermine its ambition to become the world's top 20 economies by 2020.

It is difficult to figure out what repercussions the dramatic drop in oil production of the world's 8th largest oil exporter would have in other parts of the world, which is struggling in the face of a new bout of financial turmoil in recent days.

(China News Agency)

Detained Journalists Released

Nigerian security agents have released three reporters arrested over an erroneous report claiming the president would step down on health grounds.

The journalists said they were freed late Thursday. They include Channels news employee Bashir Adigun, who also works for The Associated Press in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Channels Television — a major private broadcaster shut down by security officials after the incident — remained off-air.

Channels and other media briefly reported Tuesday that President Umaru Yar'Adua, who suffers a kidney ailment, could shortly leave office. They cited a report by Nigeria's official news agency.

But top government officials said the report was a hoax, claiming no such story had ever been sent to subscribers, and quickly disavowed the information.

(AP)

Oil War Continues

Nigerian militants threatened on Wednesday to broaden their "oil war" to offshore oilfields and announced attacks on a crude oil pipeline in the Niger Delta and another Shell-operated facility.


The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), responsible for attacks that have cut a fifth of OPEC member Nigeria's oil output, said it would launch attacks outside Rivers state for the first time since clashes began on Saturday.


Oil traders on Wednesday began to take notice of the rise in violence and that helped push prices above $94 a barrel in early trading. The market has fallen sharply this week on the impact of the credit crisis on the global economy.



The heaviest fighting between militants and security forces in more than two years has spread to about 10 villages in Rivers state, home to oil city Port Harcourt. Some private security sources estimate dozens have died.


"After Rivers, the hurricane will be heading to the neighbouring states in the Niger Delta," MEND said in an e-mailed statement.


Experts believe the clashes could continue for weeks as the military tries to capture or kill top militant leaders and regain control of the region's oil resources.


"The fight is over control of oil resources and the right to tap those resources," said Antony Goldman, an analyst at London-based risk consultancy PM Consulting.


Militants have bombed pipelines, platforms, gas plants and oilfields, halting up to 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil production in the past five days, said an official with state oil firm NNPC.


The world's eighth largest oil exporter is currently pumping around 1.95 million bpd.
MEND, which says it is fighting for more local control of the impoverished region's oil wealth, attacked Shell's Orubiri flow station and a crude oil pipeline at Rumuekpe in Rivers state late Tuesday and early Wednesday.


"It is feared the (Orubiri) facility may have caught fire due to intense, sporadic gunshots and massive dynamite and bomb explosions," said Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, spokesman for the military task force in Rivers state.


Musa said no soldiers were killed in the attack, which involved an assault by eight gunboats.
Militants said their next targets would be major offshore oilfields.


"Soldiers and oil workers are advised to abandon all oil facilities including the offshore rigs of Bonga and Agbami as we want to minimise casualties," MEND said.


MEND launched its most daring strike in June against Shell's $3.6 billion Bonga oilfield, which lies some 120 kilometres from the coast, forcing the company to shut down the 220,000 bpd operation for several days.


MEND's other target, Chevron's Agbami oilfield, is Nigeria's newest oilfield. The facility, which started production in late July, is expected to pump about 100,000 bpd by February.
Chevron and Shell officials said they did not discuss their security plans.


MEND said it was still holding 27 oil workers captive as leverage for the release of suspected militant leader Henry Okah, who is in jail for gun-running and treason.


A Nigeria military spokesman said late on Tuesday two South African hostages had been released, but MEND denied this.


MEND said on Monday it would release the pair after a personal appeal from Okah's wife.



(Reuters)

Committee to Protect Journalists Press Release

CPJ condemns the ongoing harassment of translator Samuel George in Port Harcourt. Security services officers have ordered George to report to their offices on September 26, although no charges have been brought against him in the two weeks he has been made to report repeatedly.

George was working as a translator for U.S. filmmaker Andrew Berends when they were arrested by the military on August 31, and then transferred to the Nigerian State Security Services. Berends was detained for 36 hours and then was ordered to report daily to state security for 10 days before he was eventually deported on September 9 with no official charges brought against him. The security services kept George in custody for five days after the arrests, then ordered him to report to the security offices three times last week, George told CPJ. He has not been questioned, he said, and he has not been given a reason for his detention.

According to Nigerian law, official charges must be brought within 48 hours.

"Samuel George has been targeted by the security services merely for helping a journalist carry out his professional work," said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes. "The ongoing intimidation of George contravenes Nigerian law and must end immediately."

Berends entered Nigeria in April to complete a documentary film about the Niger Delta region's oil conflict called "Delta Boys," sponsored by the New York-based Tribeca Film Institute.

Berends previously directed a film about Iraq called "Blood of My Brother," which was screened widely on the international festival circuit and earned a 2006 International Documentary Award.

George is a graduate of Port Harcourt University of Science and Technology and was working with Berends as a translator.

Another documentary film crew was detained this year by the Nigerian military in the Niger Delta region. The military arrested the film crew of "Sweet Crude" on April 12 and held them for a week on charges that were never substantiated.

Station Closed Down After Hoax

Nigerian TV station off air over report on president's health

A leading Nigerian private television station was taken off air after it reported that the president was considering resigning on health grounds, authorities said Wednesday.

The offending broadcast was based on a Tuesday report allegedly sent out by the official state News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) which said President Umaru Yar'Adua could stand down "for medical reasons."

The agency has denied being the source of the article while Yar'Adua's aides have said he has no plans whatsoever to resign.

"The NBC (National Broadcasting Commission) hereby invokes the law and suspends with immediate effect the broadcasting operations of Channels Television in all locations in Nigeria," the broadcasting authority said in a statement.

Security forces personnel had visited the station's offices and five people were taken in for questioning. The channel has been off the airwaves since Tuesday evening.

The closure sparked a storm of criticism as media watchdogs urged the authorities to probe the story's source instead of closing down media houses or arresting journalists.

"No medium of communication should be shut down on account of alleged infraction. Any professional misconduct should be properly investigated," said the Nigerian Guild of Editors.

(AFP)

Scot Kidnapped

THE Foreign Office confirmed yesterday that a businessman kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria on Monday is a Scot.

Mike Welford, 65, is believed to come from the Aberdeen area, but he has lived and worked in Nigeria for several years and is married to a Nigerian.

(Scotsman)

More Oil Lost

Nigeria lost 280,000 barrels daily of its crude output to attacks launched by armed militants in the Niger Delta oil region in the past five days, bringing currently shut output to about one million barrels a day, the state-run oil company said.

``Current shut-in production stands at about one million barrels a day, but it's not necessarily due to militant attacks,'' Levi Ajuonuma, spokesman for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. said by phone from the country's capital, Abuja, today. ``Only 28 percent (280,000 barrels) is because of militant action.''

The state oil company, also known as NNPC, holds the majority stake in five joint ventures with oil majors that produce more than 90 percent of Nigeria's crude oil. Operators of the joint ventures include Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Total and Eni Spa.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the main militant group in the oil region, said it declared an ``oil war'' in the southern delta that accounts for nearly all of the country's oil after the military launched an offensive on Sept. 13 on its positions.

In the last five days the militant group, also known as MEND, has attacked pipelines and oil pumping stations run by the Nigerian units of Shell, Chevron and Eni.

In addition to output shut-ins caused by these attacks, Nigeria had accumulated shut-ins due to maintenance projects, leaking pipelines and previous violent disruptions, Ajuonuma said. Exxon Mobil, which has not experienced the recent attacks, has shut some of its production to carry out maintenance on its pipelines, he said.

`Closed for Maintenance'

``Some of the oil facilities attacked in recent days were already closed for maintenance,'' Ajuonuma said.

MEND says it's fighting on behalf of the inhabitants of the Niger Delta who have yet to share in the oil wealth of the region.

Nigeria has Africa's biggest hydrocarbon reserves, with more than 30 billion barrels of crude and 187 trillion cubic feet of gas and was the continent's biggest crude exporter in July and August, according to Bloomberg data. The West African country is the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports.

(Bloomberg)

Delta Violence Timeline

Nigerian militants have attacked oil facilities in the Niger Delta in the heaviest fighting in two years.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is responsible for attacks that have cut a fifth of the OPEC member's output since it emerged late in 2005. Below is a chronology of conflict in the Niger Delta since then.

Dec 2005 - Dynamite attack on major pipeline operated by Royal Dutch Shell kills eight people. MEND claims responsibility.

Jan 2006 - Militants carry out a series of raids on oil installations, killing six people in a raid on a Shell platform and prompting the firm to evacuate hundreds of workers.

Feb 2006 - Nigerian forces attack targets in the Niger Delta by helicopter gunship and militants fire back with rockets as the conflict escalates.

Oct 2006 - Militants in speed boats attack soldiers escorting a convoy supplying oilfields, killing five. Days later, militants kill 17 soldiers in two separate gun battles.

June 2007 - After new President Umaru Yar'Adua takes office, a court frees former militia leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari on bail. He had been in jail since 2005.

Sept 2007 - Suspected militant leader Henry Okah arrested in Angola, prompting MEND to pull out of talks. He was extradited to Nigeria to face treason charges in Feb. 2008.

Feb 2008 - A group of influential rebels and activists say they want to resume peace talks with the government but MEND stays out.

April 2008 - Angola temporarily surpasses Nigeria as Africa's top oil producer because of the Niger Delta outages.

June 2008 - MEND attacks Shell's Bonga oilfield, 120 km (75 miles) offshore, the furthest it has struck in Nigeria's deep waters.

July 2008 - Top U.N. official Ibrahim Gambari resigns as head of committee organising peace talks after Niger Delta leaders criticise his role under past dictator.

Sept. 10, 2008 - Yar'Adua approves creation of a new ministry for the Niger Delta, but militants are dismissive of the idea.

Sept 14, 2008 - MEND declare an "oil war" in the Niger Delta after two days of gunbattles with security forces.

(Reuters)

Chevron Idama Platform Hit

US oil giant Chevron yesterday confirmed a shooting around its Idama platform in the Niger Delta region.

A statement on the company's website quoted it as saying, "Chevron Nigeria Limited can confirm reports of shooting in the area of its Idama facilities, Rivers State, at about 1.00 a.m. (0000 GMT) (yesterday). The attack had been reported to the appropriate government authorities and investigation is ongoing".

There were conflicting versions of what actually happened at Idama. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), said five of its scouts on a recce around the Idama flowstation, were involved in a minor skirmish with nervous soldiers guarding the station".

The statement also quoted a Nigerian military officer as saying yesterday that his men had repelled an attempt to blow up a Chevron facility overnight.

The company said it was monitoring the situation closely."We can confirm that no CNL (Chevron Nigeria Limited) employee was hurt as a result of the incident. There are no expatriates on the Idama platform and none was involved in the incident," the company said.

"At this time, we do not have information to suggest that the attack was directed specifically at Chevron," it continued.

In terms of production, Chevron said the Idama facility had been shut-in prior to the incident as a result of on-going pipeline repair work. "The shooting incident has not had any additional impact on current levels of CNL production", the statement noted.

Since Saturday, when MEND first evoked a possible oil war, the group has claimed two attacks on Royal Dutch Shell facilities which resulted in the company evacuating 100 of its workers from the area.

(allAfrica.com)

More Oil Facilities Reportedly Hit

Armed Nigerian militants who have declared an "oil war" in the restive south of the country claimed Wednesday to have blown up a major pipeline in their latest attack on oil installations in the region.


The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the most prominent of the groups operating in the creeks and swamps of the Niger Delta, said it blew up a pipeline it believes is operated by Royal Dutch Shell and Italy's Agip.


"A very major trunk crude oil pipeline we believe may belong to both Agip and Shell has been blown up today... at about 9:30 am (0830 GMT)... at Rumuekpe, in Rivers state," said MEND in a statement emailed to the media.


The latest attack, a rare daylight one, was not immediately confirmed by the military deployed in the region.


Hours earlier MEND reported having acted with a new ally to have which destroyed a Royal Dutch Shell oil flow station in the African nation's main producing region.


As with other attacks since they declared an "oil war" on Sunday, the rebels moved in with speed boats, dynamite and hand grenades in their attack on the Orubiri flow station, the army said.


The attack on Orubiri was the third on a Shell target in 48 hours. US Chevron has also seen attacks close to its installations this week.


MEND said that it attacked the Orubiri facility along with another militant group, the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF).


"About 2200 (2100 GMT) on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, fighters from MEND and the NDVF ... attacked and destroyed the Orubiri flow station," MEND said.


Shell made no immediate comment.


MEND said it killed all the soldiers on guard at the Orubiri facility and took their weapons. The army denied the claim, saying none of the 10 naval personnel or guards on duty died or sustained injuries.


MEND renewed a warning to soldiers and oil workers to abandon all oil installations, including deep offshore.


"Soldiers and oil workers are advised to abandon all oil facilities including the offshore rigs of Bonga and Agbami as we want to minimize casualties before Hurricane Barbarossa arrives," the group said.


Hurricane Barbarossa is the code name MEND has given to its new offensive against foreign majors.


MEND attacked Shell's flagship Bonga field in June, while Agbami is another deep offshore field operated by Chevron which only recently came online.


So far only Rivers state is affected, but MEND warned it would spread its attacks to neighbouring states.


As well as Orubiri and the latest pipeline, they have affected a Shell flow station at Alakiri and another pipeline, as well as Chevron facilities at Robertkiri and Idama.


Lieutenant-Colonel Rabe Abubakar, spokesman of the special military unit policing the two other neighbouring oil states of Bayelsa and Delta, has warned that any attack on oil facilities there "will be met with grave consequences".


He said the unit "will not fold its hands and watch the senseless destruction of national economic assets ...(by) unpatriotic elements".


MEND says it is fighting for local people to get a greater share of the huge oil revenues. It declared war on the oil industry at the weekend in response to what it said was an unprovoked attack by the army on one of its positions.


Since MEND took up arms in early 2006, Nigeria's oil output has been cut by at least one quarter as a consequence of kidnappings and sabotage in the Delta.


Two South African hostages seized last week by pirates with 25 other people on a vessel off southern Nigeria were freed Tuesday night, the military said. Military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Musa Sagir told AFP no ransom was paid.

MEND Steps up War

Militants have attacked another oil facility in Nigeria's Delta region, after "declaring war" at the weekend.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said it had destroyed Shell's Orubiri flow-station.

"Militants in eight speed boats attacked Orubiri with bombs, dynamite and hand grenades," said military spokesman Lt Col Sagir Musa.

This is the fourth attack this week. Nigeria's oil production has been cut by 20% due to the unrest.

Col Musa told Reuters news agency that no soldiers had been killed in the attack.

Militants also claimed to have blown up a major oil pipeline at Rumuekpe in Rivers State, but the military could not confirm the attack.

Hostages not free

The BBC's Andrew Walker in Nigeria says the recent fighting has been the heaviest in two years between militants and security forces.

Mend says it has killed at least 29 people, mostly soldiers, although this has been denied by the military.

Two other Shell facilities have been attacked, while a raid on one owned by Chevron was fought off on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the military said two South African hostages captured on the weekend had been released, but this has been denied by Mend.

The South Africans were among 27, including two Britons, seized from an oil services ship on Saturday.

The other workers were Nigerians, Mend said.

"For the avoidance of doubt Mend wishes to state we still have custody of the two South African Hostages," an e-mail to journalists said.

The group also said the hostages would be used as a "human shield" during their handover, which Mend said would happen soon.

On Monday a British oil worker was seized in the Delta's main city, Port Harcourt.

Mend said it was "declaring war" in response to attacks by the military, which it said had left seven of its fighters dead on Saturday.

Some 200 foreign oil workers have been taken hostage in recent years.

Almost all have been freed, normally in return for a ransom, although this is always officially denied.

The militants claim to be fighting for the rights of inhabitants of the oil-producing Niger Delta, who mostly live in poverty.

But many say they are criminal gangs out to extort money from oil companies.

(BBC)

MEND Agrees to Release S. African Hostages

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the most prominent rebel group in Nigeria's oil-rich south, agreed on Monday to released two South African hostages at the "earliest convenience".

According to a statement received here late Monday, MEND said that Mrs. Azuka Okah, wife of detained activist and MEND's former commander, Henry Okah, has sent a passionate appeal for MEND's assistance towards the release of the two South African hostages.

The statement said they were impressed by the South African government's respect for the rule of law as Azuka Okah has received respect and hospitality when she and her children are in South Africa.

"MEND will be reciprocating the gesture by releasing the two hostages to the care of the South African government representative at the earliest convenience after working out the modalities including safety concerns since the creek is now a war zone," said the statement.

According to the statement, two South Africans were kidnapped by pirates in Rivers state and was rescued by MEND.

The two South Africans, along with two Britons and a Ukrainian, were abducted on Sept. 10 when boarded on an oil supply vessel operating in waters within Nigeria's volatile Niger Delta region.

MEND, who is in intensive fight with Nigerian government forces, said Saturday that 27 hostages, including the five foreign oil workers, have been trapped in fighting zone in Eleme-Tombia, a riverside community in the Degema council area of Rivers State.

The battle, starting on early Saturday, is still going on, leaving about 30 dead and several oil facilities blown up.

Since the beginning of 2006, militant groups emerged in Niger Delta region, fighting for more local control of natural resources, especially oil, through way of kidnapping oil workers and attacks on oil facilities.

More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped and a string of attacks on oil pipelines, wells and terminals have been registered by now, which have led to about 25 percent oil production drop compared with the country's peak oil output of 2.6 million barrels per day.

(China News Agency)

Brit Taken Hostage

A group of five gunmen have kidnapped a British national in southern Nigeria, reports say.

The hostage, a former employee of the petrochemicals firm Indo Rama, was seized late on Monday in Port Harcourt, sources said.

No group has yet claimed responsibility.

More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta, the heart of the country's oil sector, since early 2006.

Almost all have been released unharmed.

A spokesman for the British Foreign Office told Sky News officials were investigating the report, but could not give further details.

It came as militants launched assaults on two oil installations in the delta in the heaviest fighting there in two years.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), responsible for attacks that have cut a fifth of the OPEC member's output since early 2006, attacked a Royal Dutch Shell oil pipeline and Chevron-operated oilfield.

A spokesman for the group said: "A major crude oil pipeline... belonging to the Shell Petroleum Development Company was destroyed with high explosives."

A Shell spokesman confirmed the attack to the AFP news agency.

"We can confirm that a section of the Greater Port Harcourt Swamp Line at Bakana, Rivers State, was attacked last night (September 15)," Precious Okolobo said.

Some security sources in the oil industry estimate more than 100 people may have been killed by the clashes, which have spread to at least seven villages in the state of Rivers.

The military says militants have incurred "heavy losses", but declined to elaborate.
MEND says at least 29 people, most of them soldiers, have died.

Militants have bombed pipelines, platforms, gas plants and oilfields, shutting up to 115,000 barrels per day of oil production in the last four days, government officials said.

(Sky News)

MEND Say Shell Pipeline 'Destroyed'

A Nigerian rebel group says it has blown up and destroyed a Royal Dutch Shell pipeline in the latest attack in its "oil war" on western firms.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) also said it would soon release two South African hostages it rescued from pirates.

Neither Nigerian authorities nor Shell immediately confirmed the pipeline raid, but MEND has already attacked a Shell flow station since declaring its war on Sunday. It attacked a Chevron facility hours before the declaration.

MEND is the most prominent armed group in the Delta region which says it is fighting for local people to get a greater share of the huge oil revenues. Its campaign over the past five years has already cut Nigeria's oil production by a quarter.

"A major crude oil pipeline at Bakana Front in Degema Local Government Area ... was destroyed with high explosives by MEND detonation engineers backed by heavily-armed fighters," MEND said in an email statement to the media.

Bakana is in Rivers State, the heart of the oil region. The two previous attacks, one on Shell's Alakiri flowstation and the other on a Chevron facility at Robertkiri, are in the same state.

MEND declared an all-out war on the oil industry at the weekend in response to what it said was an unprovoked attack by the Nigerian military on one of its positions on Saturday.

The group said the two South Africans would be freed "at the earliest convenience." The South Africans were among 27 people, also including 22 Nigerians and three people who are British or Ukrainian - it rescued from pirates on Friday.

MEND said it was persuaded to release the two by an appeal from Azuka Okah, wife of Henry Okah, one of the group's leaders detained in secret in the centre of Nigeria.

(AFP)

Oil Output Down

Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oil exporter, is pumping around 2.1 million barrels per day, down from last week after a fresh wave of militant attacks, a senior oil official said on Tuesday.

'Production had been at around 2.2 million barrels per day. We are now at 2.1 (million),' a senior official with the state-oil firm NNPC told Reuters.

Government officials on Monday said up to 115,000 bpd of oil production may have been halted in the last four days.

(Forbes)

MEND Claims Clashes Continue

The main militant group in Nigeria's southern oil region declared a state of war Sunday after two days of clashes with the armed forces, raising the specter of a stepped-up conflict in Africa's oil giant.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has mostly focused on hobbling Nigeria's oil industry since it emerged nearly three years ago, bombing pipelines in hopes of forcing the federal government to send more revenues to the impoverished oil-producing south.

But a military task force involving marine, land and air forces has stepped up its anti-militant activities in recent weeks, and the militant group said that two days of relatively rare ground battles with the military meant the region was in a state of war.

"Following a previous warning that any attack on our positions will be tantamount to a declaration of an oil war, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has declared an oil war," said a statement from the group, known by its acronym MEND.

It was unclear if the declaration would have any real effect on the ground in the Niger Delta. Neither side has sought a full-blown civil war, although Nigerian media have reported that some elements in the military were pushing for more-robust attacks on the militants.

MEND is a loose alliance of militant and criminal gangs who steal Nigerian oil for sale overseas.

Most fighting is focused on hitting the oil industry, but a full-scale conflict with the military could leave the country's oil-pumping infrastructure in tatters, while jeopardizing the militants' own lucrative oil trade.

International oil companies would struggle to maintain the thousands of miles (kilometers) of pipelines connecting wells to export terminals. A shutdown of all oil production from Nigeria, one of the world's top producers and an OPEC member, would cause further spikes in oil prices.

The militants, who analysts say are motivated by money as well as politics, say they want more federally held oil funds for their states, which remain impoverished despite five decades of production in Africa's oil giant. Their attacks have cut about one-fifth of Nigeria's normal oil output, helping send crude prices to all-time highs in international markets.

On Sunday, militants said they attacked soldiers protecting sites run by Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell — payback for a rare ground battle Saturday when the armed forces attacked a militant base camp. The militants said seven of their fighters died in the Saturday attack.

Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, a spokesman for the military task force charged with calming the Niger Delta, said unknown fighters battled soldiers Sunday near two sites operated by Chevron and Shell in Rivers State. The militants said Sunday's fighting had killed 22 troops, but Musa denied that claim.

Representatives for Shell and Chevron said the companies were investigating reports of an incident and had no immediate comment.

The militants also said they blew up other pieces of oil infrastructure, but those claims couldn't be immediately verified. The group warned international oil companies to stay away from the region.

"All international oil and gas loading vessels entering the region are warned to drop anchor in the high sea or divert elsewhere until further notice. Failure to comply is taking a foolhardy risk of attack and destruction of the vessel," the group said.

The militants said they had attacked a military outpost in recent weeks, killing 29 military personnel in response to alleged killings of civilians. The government denied that any attacks took place. The accounts could not be independently verified.

Large-scale battles between the militants and military are rare. While the military often skirmishes with gunmen during chance boat encounters on the region's waterways, it has avoided major attacks on militant camps and other permanent positions.

The militants generally avoid the armed forces, sticking to the back creeks of the delta as they roam the region. The weekend's battles are unusual examples of clashes between massed forces.

(International Herald Tribune)