A Nigerian employee of French oil giant Total has been kidnapped in southern Nigeria and his captors have demanded a ransom of more than 65,000 dollars, an industry source said Sunday.
The kidnappers have asked for 10 million naira (51,500 euros, 66,000 dollars) to free the employee, the source said.
Another Total employee was freed two weeks ago after being held for one week in the volatile Niger Delta region, an oil hub plagued by attacks and kidnappings by armed groups claiming to be acting on behalf of the local population.
Security sources said a ransom had been paid for the employee’s release, but no figure was made public.
There has been an upsurge in violent attacks on Nigeria’s oil industry and kidnappings of both local and foreign oil workers since January 2006.
The unrest has reduced the country’s oil output by more than one quarter as production currently stands around two million barrels a day against 2.6 million barrels three years ago.
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