Villagers invade Nigeria oil rig

CALABAR – Nigerian villagers invaded an oil rig over the weekend to press claims for community development, as a militant group threatened a fresh wave of attacks against the world’s eighth largest oil exporter.

Unarmed villagers in the southeastern state of Akwa Ibom occupied the Tommycraig Head rig operated by independent oil company Addax on Saturday, and briefly abducted three oil workers and four Navy personnel, but the men were all released by yesterday morning, oil company and Navy sources said. “Youths from Efiat community invaded Addax operations and kidnapped some naval personnel,” a company source said, asking not to be named.”The youths were complaining of non-provision of adequate infrastructure facilities.”A Navy spokesman in the capital Abuja confirmed that the rig was invaded and said the villagers took the captives to their village, only to release them when military reinforcements arrived.”They invaded the platform and threatened to set it on fire if they were not settled,” the spokesman said, adding that the attackers did not have weapons.Addax, which launched an IPO on the Toronto stock exchange last week, was not immediately available for comment.Small disputes between communities and oil companies are frequent in the Niger Delta, which pumps almost all of Nigeria’s 2,4 million barrels per day, and villagers often occupy rigs and platforms as a means of extracting money from companies.The invasion was apparently unconnected to a series of large-scale attacks by the Movement for The Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) on oil installations which began in December and forced companies to shut down 10 per cent of Nigeria’s 2,4 million barrel per day output in January.A person identifying himself as the leader of MEND, Bruce Edipade, called Reuters yesterday to announce the start of a fresh wave of attacks and warned oil workers to stay out of the Niger Delta.”We want to explode all oil flow stations in Niger Delta.I would advise the oil workers that if they want to work, they should keep clear for now, unless they want to go into battle,” he said.MEND has been making dramatic threats against the Nigerian oil industry since late January, but the promised second phase of attacks has yet to materialise.In December and January, MEND militants blew up two major oil pipelines, held four foreign oil workers hostage for 19 days and sabotaged two major oilfields, killing at least 14 soldiers.Some of the lost output has since been restored, but Royal Dutch Shell is still repairing a 106 000 barrel-per-day crude oil pipeline which was damaged by militants on Jan 11.Edipade denied any involvement in a January 24 attack on Italian oil company Agip, a unit of ENI, in which eight policemen were killed and the attackers robbed a bank.He insisted that MEND did not want money, but local control over the Niger Delta’s oil wealth.Almost all of Nigerian oil comes from the delta, a vast region of swamps and tidal creeks where impoverished fishing villages play host to a multi-billion dollar industry.Edipade said his group would begin talks with the government only once all oil operations have stopped in the delta.”There is no way we can negotiate with the government while the companies are still drilling.We want control of our resources,” he said.-Nampa-Reuters”Youths from Efiat community invaded Addax operations and kidnapped some naval personnel,” a company source said, asking not to be named.”The youths were complaining of non-provision of adequate infrastructure facilities.”A Navy spokesman in the capital Abuja confirmed that the rig was invaded and said the villagers took the captives to their village, only to release them when military reinforcements arrived.”They invaded the platform and threatened to set it on fire if they were not settled,” the spokesman said, adding that the attackers did not have weapons.Addax, which launched an IPO on the Toronto stock exchange last week, was not immediately available for comment.Small disputes between communities and oil companies are frequent in the Niger Delta, which pumps almost all of Nigeria’s 2,4 million barrels per day, and villagers often occupy rigs and platforms as a means of extracting money from companies.The invasion was apparently unconnected to a series of large-scale attacks by the Movement for The Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) on oil installations which began in December and forced companies to shut down 10 per cent of Nigeria’s 2,4 million barrel per day output in January.A person identifying himself as the leader of MEND, Bruce Edipade, called Reuters yesterday to announce the start of a fresh wave of attacks and warned oil workers to stay out of the Niger Delta.”We want to explode all oil flow stations in Niger Delta.I would advise the oil workers that if they want to work, they should keep clear for now, unless they want to go into battle,” he said.MEND has been making dramatic threats against the Nigerian oil industry since late January, but the promised second phase of attacks has yet to materialise.In December and January, MEND militants blew up two major oil pipelines, held four foreign oil workers hostage for 19 days and sabotaged two major oilfields, killing at least 14 soldiers.Some of the lost output has since been restored, but Royal Dutch Shell is still repairing a 106 000 barrel-per-day crude oil pipeline which was damaged by militants on Jan 11.Edipade denied any involvement in a January 24 attack on Italian oil company Agip, a unit of ENI, in which eight policemen were killed and the attackers robbed a bank.He insisted that MEND did not want money, but local control over the Niger Delta’s oil wealth.Almost all of Nigerian oil comes from the delta, a vast region of swamps and tidal creeks where impoverished fishing villages play host to a multi-billion dollar industry.Edipade said his group would begin talks with the government only once all oil operations have stopped in the delta.”There is no way we can negotiate with the government while the companies are still drilling.We want control of our resources,” he said.-Nampa-Reuters