Nigerian rebels claim attack on Chevron facility

By Randy Fabi
ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's main militant group said on Monday it had sabotaged an oil pumping station in the Niger Delta operated by Chevron, the fifth attack claimed against the U.S. energy company in less than a month.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it attacked the Chevron-operated Abiteye flow station, which feeds oil to the Escravos export terminal in Delta state.
It was not possible to verify the statement independently. Chevron officials were not immediately available for comment.
The militant group, which declared "an all-out war" against the military last month, threatened to expand its campaign in the region to include offshore oil facilities.
Oil markets have largely shrugged off the latest violence, focusing attention instead on the broader global economy and its affect on energy demand.
"After destroying the entire oil infrastructure in Delta state, the hurricane will move into the neighboring states of Bayelsa and Rivers before passing through the remaining state of Ondo, Edo and Akwa Ibom then finally head offshore," MEND said in an e-mailed statement.
Chevron facilities in the southern Delta state have become a favorite target for attacks by MEND, which says it is fighting for a fairer share of the region's wealth.
Chevron has halted much of its operations in Delta state, shutting output of 100,000 barrels per day, after militants bombed one of it pipelines on May 24.
On Saturday, Chevron confirmed damage to its Makaraba-Utonana-Abiteye pipeline and fire at its Makaraba Jacket 5 facility in Delta state.
Security experts say MEND has been weakened after the military launched its biggest offensive in years last month, bombarding rebel camps from the air and sea and sending three battalions of soldiers to hunt gunmen down.
Most of the oil infrastructure that MEND has targeted in recent weeks has been around Abiteye in Delta state, an area known to be hostile to the military and foreign oil companies.
Militants and local youths sabotaged oil pipelines in the area last November and again in March.
Industry and security sources say it is virtually impossible fully to protect hundreds of kilometres of pipeline running through remote and largely unpopulated areas.
(Reporting by Randy Fabi; editing by Andrew Dobbie)

Source: Reuters