Nine expat oil workers kidnapped in Nigeria

LAGOS - Up to nine foreign oil workers were kidnapped in an attack on an offshore oil rig in Nigeria on Friday, security sources said, and diplomats said they were taking the reports seriously.

Up to six Britons, two Americans and a Canadian, as well as eight Nigerians, were abducted in an attack at 0200 GMT (2pm NZT) on the Bulford Dolphin rig, 100km off the coast of southern Nigeria in the Gulf of Guinea, according to security sources.

"We're following it up as quickly as we can. It's not confirmed but we are taking it very seriously. We are fearing the worst," said a British diplomat.

A US diplomat said he had heard the reports from reliable security sources and was treating them as real.

There was no immediate indication of any link to a campaign of attacks and abductions by the militant Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which has cut Nigeria's oil exports by a quarter.

MEND has usually claimed its attacks within minutes by sending emails to media, but there was no word from the group on Friday and they did not immediately respond to messages.

Norwegian oilfield services group Fred. Olsen Energy, owner of the Bulford Dolphin rig, confirmed that there was an "incident", but said it was still checking reports.

The rig is on lease to Nigerian oil company Peak Petroleum.

Fred. Olsen's Chief Financial Officer Jan Peter Valheim said the company was in contact with its employees in Nigeria and would issue a statement soon.

A spokesman for the armed forces in the Niger Delta, the southern oil-producing region of Nigeria, said he too had heard the reports but he could not categorically confirm any details.

Security sources said the Bulford Dolphin rig sent a distress call during the attack that was picked up by the Ossa Valiant, a ship cruising nearby.

Remaining staff from the rig were being evacuated to the city of Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta, the sources said.

If confirmed, the attack would cause embarrassment to Nigerian authorities and particularly the navy, which was due to celebrate its 50th anniversary with an international fleet review by President Olusegun Obasanjo in Lagos later on Friday.

MEND's campaign of attacks and kidnappings in January and February forced oil companies to shut down a quarter of Opec member Nigeria's 2.4 million barrels per day production of crude.

The attacks contributed to several spikes in world oil prices. Nigeria is the world's eighth-biggest exporter of oil and the fifth largest supplier to the United States, where its sweet, easy-to-refine crude is highly prized.

- REUTERS