NIGER Delta militants vowed on Wednesday to extend their campaign of sabotage and kidnapping to all oil companies in Nigeria, including Chevron and said they had already attacked platforms operated by two other companies. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said in statement they had attacked installations run by France’s Total and Italy’s Agip, but spokesmen for the two companies denied it. So far, Royal Dutch Shell is the only major operator in the world’s eighth largest oil exporter to have said it suffered attacks by the group, which is also holding four foreign oil workers hostage.
Oil prices climbed to their highest level in almost four months on Wednesday after militants threatened to cripple supplies from the leading OPEC oil exporter. “The reports of attacks on Agip and Total flow stations are correct,” the group said in response to a query about attacks on those companies. “We have decided not to limit our attacks to Shell oil as our ultimate aim is to prevent Nigeria from exporting oil,” the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said in an e-mail statement to Reuters. “We will attack all oil companies including Chevron facilities.” Spokesmen for the French and Italian companies in Nigeria dismissed the claims. Agip spokesman, Akin Aruwajoye, said: “We have not been attacked.” Total spokesman, Fred Ohwahwa, said: “We don’t have any problem, nothing has happened to any of our facilities.” Shell, the largest producer of oil in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, has shut 226,000 barrels per day, roughly 10 per cent of the West African country’s output. “Pipelines, loading points, export tankers, tank farms, refined petroleum depots, landing strips and residences of employees of these companies can expect to be attacked. We know where they live, shop and where their children go to school,” the group said. Reports said on Wednesday that U.S. oil giant, ExxonMobil, had issued a security alert to its staff in Nigeria and asked some employees not to come to work until further notice following the threats.
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Reports said that Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN) placed all its staff on high alert and asked all non-essential employees to stay away from its oil export terminal which produces some 600,000 barrels a day. An ExxonMobil spokesman declined to comment on the specifics of its precautions. “We took some security measures, but I am not prepared to discuss what they were,” he said. On Tuesday, the company denied a report by a shipping agent that loadings at its two major oil export terminals were suspended because of a threat of attack. The terminals export 550,000 barrels a day, 23 per cent of Nigerian oil. Meanwhile, oil prices neared $67 on Wednesday as U.S. crude oil climbed as far as $66.91 a barrel, the highest since September 30 last year, and was up 52 cents at $66.83 at 1020 GMT. London Brent crude was up 45 cents at $65.35. “Recent disruptions of crude oil production in Nigeria and tensions between the West and Iran over its nuclear programme... have contributed to concerns about OPEC’s ability to supply the market,” analysts at Merrill Lynch said. Crude prices have risen more than nine per cent since the start of the year. Meanwhile, the attack by militant youths also spread to Delta State on Wednesday as two vessels, MTVenus and MTTrader loaded with Low Pour Oil (LPO), were hijacked on Warri waterways. The hijack of the vessels was in addition to an invasion of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) facility located in Odidi, Warri riverine area on Tuesday night. Nigerian Tribune learnt that the militant youths attacked and hijacked the two vessels at the Jones Creek, two nautical miles from the Warri Port. It was further gathered that the vessels were already filled with LPO and were destined for Lagos before the youths came in three boats and successfully captured them.
The youths, who were said to be well armed, instructed the crew to start the vessels and head for the high seas. The whereabouts of the vessels and crew were not known as at the time of filing this report, as military sources revealed to Nigerian Tribune that they were lost at sea. Also another batch of armed youths invaded a Shell facility located in Odidi, on Warri waterways temporarily taking control of the place. The armed youths, who were said to be over 20, invaded the facility at about 10.00 p.m. on Tuesday taking away valuables. Source close to the Nigerian Tribune said the youths operated for over two hours and could have stayed to do more havoc. They fled over fear of attack from military men who were on routine surveillance. Confirming their hijack of the vessels, the Commanding Officer of NNS Delta, Captain Mufutau Ajibade, said it was an unusual activity in the area. He explained that it was by militant youths who were only interested in extortion as they always demanded for development levy. Captain Ajibade said to guarantee the life of the crew and the recovery of the vessels, he had deployed his men on the high sea to search for them. He, however, disclosed that he had not received any reports from his men as at the time of filling this report.
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