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Nigerian oil delta rebels threaten "war"
Nigerian rebels fighting for sovereignty of the oil-producing Niger delta have told oil companies in the world's seventh largest exporter to shut production before they begin an "all-out war" on October 1. The Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, in a communique issued late on Monday after a meeting of its central command, also advised all foreigners to leave the delta, according to the group's leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari. The delta pumps all of Nigeria's 2.3 million barrels per day output.The communique accused Royal Dutch Shell Group, Nigeria's largest oil producer, and Italy's Agip, a unit of ENI, of "collaboration with the Nigerian state in acts of genocide against our people". Asari told Reuters after the meeting his group would not attack oil pipelines because it did not want to pollute the delta environment, but foreign oil workers would be targeted from October 1. The violence has so far had a minimal effect on oil supply, but companies fear a repeat of last year's Ijaw rebellion which forced them briefly to shut 40 percent of production. Shell has already evacuated more than 200 staff from the fighting. In New York, crude oil futures jumped 36 cents in electronic trading to the $50 (28 pounds) a barrel level, the highest in the 21 years oil futures have traded on the exchange. Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-09-28 |
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