Nigeria militants renew attacks

2008-04-22 08:20

Edward Harris

Lagos - Nigerian militants renewed attacks in the oil-rich south and a leading producer said pipeline sabotage could drastically affect exports - news that helped push oil prices to record levels.

A Royal Dutch Shell PLC joint venture said on Monday that it might not be able to deliver some 169 000 barrels a day of crude in April and May because militants sabotaged a pipeline last week in southern Nigeria, where militancy and lawlessness had grown in recent years.

The unrest in Nigeria, the announcement by Shell and a missile attack on Japanese oil tanker off the east coast of Yemen sent oil prices spiking to a record $117.40 a barrel on Monday.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, took credit for last week's pipeline attack, and added on Monday that its fighters also hit two more pipelines it believed were operated by Chevron Corp and the Shell joint venture in southern Rivers state.

Militants invite Jimmy Carter

But Shell said both of the pipelines belonged to its joint venture and that damage assessment was underway. There was no word on production cuts from those incidents.

The militants were stepping up their activities after the arrest of one of their leaders, Henry Okah, on trial for terrorism and treason.

The militants invited former United States President Jimmy Carter to mediate, warning of more attacks. They urged Carter to intervene with the aim of ending the long-running crisis that government-led peace parleys had so far failed to control.

Carter, who was in the Middle East on Monday, wasn't immediately available for comment. The militants also had asked US President George W Bush and actor George Clooney to get involved but said they had received no reply.

"MEND expressed its willingness to embrace a genuine and transparent peace programme without getting any response. The ripple effect of this attack will touch your economy and people one way or the other and hope we now have your attention," it said.

Bombing attacks

The militants also said it launched the attacks as a "welcome" message to a US Navy vessel visiting the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea, which included Nigeria.

The militant group emerged in early 2006, launching bombing attacks on Nigeria's oil infrastructure that cut about one-quarter of the usual oil output in Africa's biggest crude producer.

The militants want their leaders released from prison and more oil revenue for areas that remain deeply poor despite the natural bounty.

But crime and militancy were closely interwoven in the southern Niger Delta, where the crude was pumped. Many of the various armed groups in the region had links to local politicians who helped arm and direct the gunmen in their efforts to rig elections.

Both militants and government officials were suspected of heavy involvement in the theft and resale of crude oil, which oil industry officials said brought revenues.

- AP