Gunmen kidnapped a Filipina woman in Port Harcourt in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta and a Frenchman was seized in the same city in a separate incident.
Following is a chronology of some recent attacks and kidnappings on the Nigerian oil industry.
Nov. 7, 2006 – An American and a Briton, working for Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) and kidnapped from a survey ship off the coast of Bayelsa state on Nov. 2, are freed.
— Nov. 22 – A British oil worker is killed when Nigerian troops try to free seven foreigners abducted from an offshore oilfield earlier in the day.
— Dec. 7 – Eight gunmen kidnap three Italians and one Lebanese from a residential facility after trying to storm the Agip oil export terminal in Bayelsa state. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claims responsibility.
— Dec. 14 – Armed men invade the Nun River logistics base operated by Royal Dutch Shell in Bayelsa state and hold at least five people hostage at the facility.
— Dec. 18 – Two car bombs rock Port Harcourt. One near the compound of Italy’s Agip and the second in the Shell residential compound. There are no casualties.
— Dec. 21 – Armed militants storm the Obagi field facility in Rivers State, operated by Total, killing three people.
— Militants plant a car bomb in the Shell residential compound in Port Harcourt. Shell evacuates some expatriate staff from compounds in Port Harcourt, Warri and Bonny Island.
Jan. 12, 2007 – Nine South Korean workers and one Nigerian are freed after being kidnapped when gunmen attacked a base operated by South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering and Construction in the Bayelsa state capital Yenagoa on Jan. 10.
— Jan. 16 – Three people including a Dutch oil worker are killed when their boat, operated by South Korean firm Hyundai, was attacked on its way to the Bonny Island export terminal.
— Jan 18 – Gunmen free five Chinese telecom workers, kidnapped on Jan. 5 in Rivers State. One Italian is also released in Bayelsa state. Three foreigners remain in captivity.
— Jan 20 – Militants seize a cargo ship, belonging to German shipping line Baco-Liner, on its way to Warri port in Delta State and take hostage all 24 Filipino crew members.
— Jan 23 – Gunmen kidnap two engineers, one American and one British, on their way to work in Nigeria’s southern oil city Port Harcourt. The Briton is released on Feb. 7.
— Feb 4 – Nine men working for the Chinese National Petroleum Company (CNPC) which was doing work in Bayelsa state for Shell are released. They were kidnapped on Jan. 25.
— Feb 6 – Gunmen abduct a Filipino worker on the road between Port Harcourt and Owerri.
— Feb 7 – Gunmen kidnap a Filipina woman in Port Harcourt in the first known abduction of a woman in the region.
— A Frenchman, working on contract for oil giant Total, is also kidnapped in Port Harcourt. The abductions bring to 31 the number of foreigners being held by different armed groups.