Four US oil workers seized in Nigeria: Sources

Lagos, May 9: Heavily armed gunmen kidnapped four US oil workers from a barge off the Nigerian coast near Chevron's Escravos oil export terminal today, said security sources.

The barge was laying pipelines for the US oil company, said the sources.

Yesterday, Nigerian rebels blew up three oil pipelines in the Niger Delta, forcing Italian oil company Eni to halt production of 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) feeding its Brass export terminal, a source at Eni said.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which has forced the shutdown of more than a quarter of Nigeria's oil output, said the attack was designed to embarrass President Olusegun Obasanjo in his last days in office.

MEND vowed to carry out more attacks in the world's eighth-largest crude exporter, where about 700,000 bpd were already being lost before the latest attack.

Raids on oil installations and abductions have become frequent in the delta.

Three South Koreans and eight Filipinos were freed yesterday after five days, a diplomat and security sources said.

Nine other foreigners remained in captivity.

Thousands of foreign oil workers have fled Nigeria because of militant attacks.

Reuters>