|
|
Nigeria: Unknown Persons Blow Up AGIP Facility in Bayelsa
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Vanguard (Lagos)
18 July 2008
Posted to the web 18 July 2008
Sam Oyadomgha
Lagos
UNKNOWN persons yesterday blew up a Key crude oil supply pipeline operated by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, the Nigerian subsidiary of the Italian group, Eni. The facility was located in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The attack on the delivery line was said to have been carried out in the early hours of yesterday by some unknown persons prompting the nation security forces to launch massive manhunt for the alleged attackers.
Although no live was lost in the attack which occurred some distance from the heavily fortified Tebidaba flowstation in the deep swamp of Southern Ijaw in the Bayelsa central senatorial district, it was however learnt that the raid might have been caused by disagreement between the locals and the company over the non implementation of memorandum of understanding (MoU).
As at press time, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, said to have caused heavy oil spill in the area. However, an industry source said it was aggrieved youths from an Ijaw community in the state that carried out the damage in protest against neglect of their community.
However, a source from the area told Vanguard that the attack is now causing panic among the locals especially with the large number of heavily armed soldiers backed by four gunboats reportedly heading towards the Tebidaba facility.
But a security source assured that the deployment was to compliment the strength of the troops already stationed in the Tebidaba flowstation.
The destroyed facility is one of the several connecting pipelines transporting crude oil to the multibillion naira Brass terminus, one of the nation's three export stations in the Niger Delta.
The attack on the Tebidaba, which is coming on the heels of the violent gunfight in neigbouring Rivers State between militants and the security forces has further cut down the country's output by a quarter causing it to lose the position as Africa's biggest oil producer to Angola, according to April figures from OPEC.
An official of Agip who spoke anonymously confirmed the attack on the facility saying the company safety personnel have been dispatched to the area to ascertain the extent of damage with a view to effecting repairs on account of its impact on the immediate environment.
Attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta have become increasingly common as militants and residents seek greater control of the region's rich resources.
When contacted, the Bayelsa State Commander of the Joint Task Force, Lt. Col Chris Musa confirmed the incident, saying his men have been deployed to the area to investigate the matter.
|
His words:, "Unknown persons blew up a pipeline around Tebidaba flow station. We are looking for them," he said.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
