No progress for Nigeria's oil rig hostages
The fate of the seven workers kidnapped a few days ago from the Afren oil rig in Nigeria is still unsure, while an internal investigation is due to review the plant's security procedures.
Speaking to The Fresh Outlook today, three days after a squad of Nigerian gunmen attacked an oil plant in the Niger delta and abducted a group of workers, an Afren spokesperson said: “We have not been contacted by the militants.
“We cannot give any comment at the moment. Of course we have been in contact with the Nigerian government and all the authorities, to make sure that the situation will [work out] as soon as possible.
“An investigation will take place within Afren, to assess what happened on the rig, and to see whether any changes in our security procedures are necessary.”
The responsibility of the attack has been claimed by Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which has been performing several attacks on oil stations in the region.
Among the people taken hostage, there are two Americans, two French, two Indonesians and a man from Canada, according to a previous release from Afren.
In a email statement sent to Reuters on Tuesday, MEND said: “All the abducted expatriates are well and in our safe custody.”
The attack, carried out last Monday, also left two people with leg injuries. A statement from Afren said they were taken by helicopter to a shore-based clinic, and are in stable conditions.
The Afren plant is situated in the Okoro Oil Field, 12km off the coast of Nigeria, in the eastern Niger delta. The installation has been recently set up, and has not started drilling operations yet.
Afren, one of the 250 leading UK companies listed in the Financial Times Stock Exchange Index, also has plants in the Ivory Coast and is planning to expand in Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia and Madagascar.
MEND, the main militant group active in the Nigeria region of the Niger delta, has been escalating its action against the oil industry in recent years.
The group aims at ending the extraction of oil, gas and other natural resources from Nigerian soil by foreign companies.
In September 2008, the militants called a ceasefire, which lasted until January 2009. During the first six months of 2009, MEND resumed the actions, claiming responsibility for blowing up a Shell pipeline and attacking three oil rigs belonging to Royal Dutch Shell.
In October last year, MEND called for a unilateral truce and started a negotiation process with the Nigerian government which, again, was broken in early 2010. In this year alone, attacks by the militants have caused 15 deaths, and left more than 20 injured.
(Read the full article on The Fresh Outlook)
14.10.2010
Speaking to The Fresh Outlook today, three days after a squad of Nigerian gunmen attacked an oil plant in the Niger delta and abducted a group of workers, an Afren spokesperson said: “We have not been contacted by the militants.
“We cannot give any comment at the moment. Of course we have been in contact with the Nigerian government and all the authorities, to make sure that the situation will [work out] as soon as possible.
“An investigation will take place within Afren, to assess what happened on the rig, and to see whether any changes in our security procedures are necessary.”
The responsibility of the attack has been claimed by Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which has been performing several attacks on oil stations in the region.
Among the people taken hostage, there are two Americans, two French, two Indonesians and a man from Canada, according to a previous release from Afren.
In a email statement sent to Reuters on Tuesday, MEND said: “All the abducted expatriates are well and in our safe custody.”
The attack, carried out last Monday, also left two people with leg injuries. A statement from Afren said they were taken by helicopter to a shore-based clinic, and are in stable conditions.
The Afren plant is situated in the Okoro Oil Field, 12km off the coast of Nigeria, in the eastern Niger delta. The installation has been recently set up, and has not started drilling operations yet.
Afren, one of the 250 leading UK companies listed in the Financial Times Stock Exchange Index, also has plants in the Ivory Coast and is planning to expand in Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia and Madagascar.
MEND, the main militant group active in the Nigeria region of the Niger delta, has been escalating its action against the oil industry in recent years.
The group aims at ending the extraction of oil, gas and other natural resources from Nigerian soil by foreign companies.
In September 2008, the militants called a ceasefire, which lasted until January 2009. During the first six months of 2009, MEND resumed the actions, claiming responsibility for blowing up a Shell pipeline and attacking three oil rigs belonging to Royal Dutch Shell.
In October last year, MEND called for a unilateral truce and started a negotiation process with the Nigerian government which, again, was broken in early 2010. In this year alone, attacks by the militants have caused 15 deaths, and left more than 20 injured.
(Read the full article on The Fresh Outlook)
14.10.2010