Twin attacks cut oil output from Africa

LAGOS - Twin attacks on Royal Dutch Shell oil facilities in Nigeria cut output from the world's eighth largest exporter by 10 per cent, authorities said yesterday.

In the first attack on Wednesday, unidentified armed men kidnapped four foreign oil workers - an American, a Briton, a Honduran and a Bulgarian - from the offshore E.A. oilfield, forcing the company to shut the 120,000 barrel-a-day field.

In the second, an explosion on a major crude oil pipeline cut exports from the Forcados area by 100,000 barrels a day.

The attacks come three weeks after militants blew up a big Shell-run export pipeline in December and raised questions about the motivations behind the attacks in Africa's largest oil producer.

"We are not able to say if they are co-ordinated," a senior Shell spokesman said.

Violence against the oil sector is frequent in the Niger Delta, where an estimated 20 million people live in poverty alongside a multibillion-dollar industry. Their resentment fuels killings, sabotage, kidnappings and huge oil theft.

In the hostage-taking, gunmen stormed the field in three boats and opened fire, injuring one person, before abducting the four foreign workers, authorities said.

"A support vessel was invaded by armed men and four persons were abducted," a Shell spokesman said.

An industry source said production from the field, located 25km from the coast of the southern Niger Delta, was shut down and workers were evacuated.

The hostages were taken from a ship servicing the field's main offshore platform, diplomats said.

A Navy source said seven armed naval officers posted as security to the oilfield were also taken along with the expatriates, but this was denied by a Navy spokesman.

Shell declined to comment on the pipeline blast, but an industry source said an explosion hit a pipeline carrying 100,000 barrels per day of crude oil to the Forcados export terminal, located about 80km from E.A

The Navy deployed helicopters and light gunboats on Thursday to track down the attackers.

Shell is by far the largest oil producer in Nigeria, pumping almost half of the country's 2.4 million barrels daily.

Royal Dutch Shell has been in a long-standing dispute with some militants based in villages to the E.A field, and has experienced attacks and threats there in the past.

Foreign oil workers kidnapped in Nigeria are almost always released after payment of a ransom, although some companies have a policy of not paying up.

The bulk of Nigeria's output comes from the highly populated swamps of the delta, but most new investment is directed towards big new offshore finds which the industry hopes will be more immune to attack.

The E.A field is the most vulnerable of these offshore oilfields because of its proximity to land. Other big new fields under development, such as Bonga and Agbami, are more than 100km from the coast and have proved inaccessible to militants.


Niger violence
* Violence against the oil sector is frequent in the Niger Delta.
* About 20 million people live in poverty alongside a multi-billion-dollar industry.
* Their resentment fuels killings, sabotage, kidnappings and huge oil theft.

- REUTERS