Suspected
militants have blown up a pipeline in Nigeria’s southern delta region, the
military and locals said Tuesday, the latest in a string of attacks on oil
facilities that have hit production. A military officer said the attacks
happened at about 10:00 pm (2100 GMT) on Monday in the Batan and Makarava areas
of Delta State.
“The
Monday night attack was an oil well head located at Makarava community, which
is being operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited,” he said, asking for his name to
be withheld. The chairman of the Batan community, Ogugu Dickson, added: “We
heard three blasts at about 10:00 pm last night and this morning (Tuesday) we
sent out the pipeline surveillance team to go and confirm details of the
incident.
“From
findings by the team, an NPDC (Nigerian Petroleum Development Company) manifold
was blown up while an NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) pipeline,
which is about 800 metres from the manifold, was also blown up.”
The NPDC
is a subsidiary of Nigeria’s state-run oil firm the NNPC and is involved in oil
and gas exploration and production. Militants from the Niger Delta Avengers
have previously used Twitter to claim responsibility but their account
@NDAvengers was marked as suspended. The group said on Sunday it had sabotaged
an NNPC pipeline, two belonging to the NPDC and two Chevron-operated oil wells
in Delta state over the weekend.
The
attacks broke a relative lull in violence in the delta region that has hit
production, exacerbating a wider financial crisis in Nigeria caused by low
global oil prices. The country is dependent on oil sales for 70 percent of
government revenue.
Nigeria’s
government has made moves to end the attacks, including a reported ceasefire,
although the rebels denied being party to it.
The resumption of violence has
been prompted by a combination of factors, including dire poverty in the region
and the end of a government amnesty programme for former militants active in
the 2000s.
Labels: Military confirms fresh Attacks on oil facilities by Niger Delta Avengers, Niger Delta Avengers blown up fresh oil facilities in Delta State
