Africa News Summary : News Headlines : Discussion Forums

LAGOS, July 2 (AFP) - Rescuers were hunting for three Nigerian workers Tuesday after an explosion on an oil industry equipment supply barge, US-owned Chevron Nigeria Ltd said Tuesday.

The weekend blast and subsequent explosion also damaged a nearby houseboat, injuring several of its residents, a statement signed by Chevron's general manager Sola Omole said.

Chevron is leading an air and water search for the missing men, who were working for a Chevron subcontractor in the Opuekeba oil field in southern Nigeria on the edge of the Niger Delta, it said.

The oil firm has launched a full inquiry into the cause of the accident, the statement said.

Nigeria is the sixth largest oil exporter in OPEC. The oil industry is the mainstay of th ewest African country's economy, supplying more than 90 percent of its foreign exchange earnings.

Accidents -- some of them caused by sabotage -- are a major cause of pollution in the Niger Delta region, where protests against oil multinationals by local people demanding investment and jobs are common.- Nampa-AFP

•  Big Brother Africa 3: The audacity of Hazel!
•  Big Brother Africa 3: Who's your winner?