Militants in Nigeria: targeting Chevron's pipeline.
'Damaged pipeline not affecting output'
US supermajor Chevron confirmed one of its Nigerian oil pipelines was damaged in a militant attack, but said output was unaffected as the infrastructure had been shut down before the incident.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), Nigeria's main militant group, said late Friday it attacked the Chevron pipelines and threatened to sabotage another facility operated by the US oil company in the region.
"There was a breach on the Makaraba-Utonana-Abiteye pipeline and fire at its Makaraba Jacket 5 facility in Delta State," Chevron spokesman Scott Walker said on Saturday.
Mend, which has declared an "all-out war" against the military last month, has also threatened to attack a Chevron oil facility near the company's Escravos crude oil complex.
The militant group seems to be targeting Chevron-operated facilities.
It bombed an oil pipeline on 24 May that led to a loss in output of 100,000 barrels per day.
The group also said it sabotaged Chevron's Otunana pumping station in Delta state on Tuesday, but the military denied any attack occurred.
"Our workforce is safe, relevant stakeholders have been informed and we are continuing to assess the situation," Walker said.
Foreign companies in sectors ranging from telecoms to construction, as well as the oil industry, have already reduced staffing levels, particularly among expatriates seen at high risk of kidnap, and tightened security measures.
Violence in the Niger Delta, home to Africa's biggest oil and gas industry, has slashed one fifth of Nigeria's oil production in the last three years.
Militants have repeatedly targeted Chevron and Shell's facilities in the past three years as many of their pipelines and oil pumping stations are located in communities hostile to foreign oil players.
Mend said it is fighting for a fairer share of the wealth in the Niger Delta, but the breakdown in law and order has given criminal gangs an opportunity to profit from oil theft and kidnapping for ransom.
Last month, the military launched its biggest offensive for years, bombarding rebel camps from the air and sea and sending three battalions of troops to hunt down rebels believed to have fled into surrounding communities.