Nigeria militants claim to destroy Chevron manifold
Tuesday, 07 Jul 2009
Nigerian militants said they destroyed a strategic manifold owned by US oil group Chevron hours after they claimed an attack on Anglo Dutch oil giant Shell.
The Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta said in a statement that "The strategic Okan manifold which controls about 80% of Chevron Nigeria Limited off shore crude oil to its BOP Crude Loading Platform was blown up at about 2045 hours on June 5th 2009."
Chevron was not immediately available to confirm the attack, coming after a similar attack on Shell's facility in the volatile Niger delta.
MEND said it carried out the attack to teach Nigeria and its special military task force in the region a lesson. It added that "As long as the Nigerian government and military JTF has chosen to carry out kidnappings and arson against innocent communities and individuals, Moses will fight for them. We are demanding that the abducted monarch who is still being held illegally by the JTF be released immediately or charged to a competent court of law."
The attack came hours after MEND destroyed the Shell well head at Cawthorn Channel 1 which connects with the Bonny loading terminal in Rivers state.
MEND on Saturday vowed to thwart a USD 10 billion trans Saharan gas pipeline project linking vast reserves in Nigeria to Europe.
On Friday, three African countries namely Algeria, Niger and Nigeria signed a deal in Abuja to build the more than 4,000 kilometer pipeline conveying gas destined for the European market from the Niger Delta in Nigeria, via Niger and Algeria. No date was announced for the start of construction, but the first delivery of gas is scheduled in 2015.
MEND urged oil firms still operating in the restive Niger Delta to leave immediately, threatening to carry out new attacks. MEND, which came to prominence in December 2005, has been responsible for a series of attacks on major oil companies, including Shell, Chevron and Italian group Agip.
