British and American hostages freed in Nigeria

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, Nov 7 (Reuters) Two oil workers taken hostage in Nigeria, one Briton and one American, were released in good health today after five days in captivity, a state government spokesman said.

The two men were working on a ship off the Nigerian coast for Norway's Petroleum Geo-Services when they were abducted by armed militants demanding cash and basic amenities for nearby communities.

''The hostages have just been released. They are doing fine,'' said Ekiyor Conrad Welson, a spokesman for Bayelsa State, where the kidnapping took place.

Nigeria is the world's eighth largest oil exporter, but supplies are frequently disrupted by violence in the Niger Delta.

The two men's release had been expected on Sunday and Monday, but negotiators said it was held up by increasing ransom demands.

Kidnapping, sabotage and extortion are common in the maze of mangrove-lined creeks, where impoverished fishing villages play host to multi-billion dollar oil platforms and highly paid expatriate workers.

Dozens of oil workers have been kidnapped this year alone, and all have been released unharmed except one Nigerian man who was accidentally killed by troops in a botched release attempt.

It is often difficult to distinguish between militancy and criminality in the lawless delta, where almost every community has arsenals and vigilantes, and theft of crude oil from pipelines is widespread.

Armed militants and villagers in another part of Bayelsa state invaded an oil production facility operated by Italian oil company Agip yesterday, holding 48 people against their will and forcing the company to reduce output by 50,000 barrels a day.

State government officials are also trying to start talks with those protesters, who accuse the subsidiary of ENI of failing to clean up and pay compensation for a series of oil spills in the area.

A series of attacks against oil facilities operated by Royal Dutch Shell have forced that company to cut output by 500,000 barrels a day since February.

Those attacks were staged by a group called the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, which is campaigning for spill compensation, more regional control over the delta's oil wealth and freedom for two jailed leaders from the region.

Politicians also use gunmen to reinforce claims of supremacy around election time, and many fear violence will intensify in the run-up to general elections in April.

The U S consulate in Lagos issued a warning on Friday that a militant group was planning to launch a campaign of 10-20 bombings, attacks on oil facilities and kidnappings in the first week of November.

Reuters AKJ DB2056