Violence against oil companies in Africa�s top oil producer has been on the rise since September, when peace talks with rebels broke down after the arrest of a prominent militia leader.
In an email to the media, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it sponsored gunmen who shot at six oil industry vessels in the Bonny River channel on Wednesday, in which two people were injured.
“MEND will be supporting these small independent groups to harass and sabotage the oil industry at will,” the group said.
Shell�s spokesman, Precious Okolobo, who confirmed the attack told Business Day said one of the vessels involved in the incident belongs to the company.
He disclosed that the two injured personnel are crew members, adding that they are already receiving treatment in a hospital.
“We are deeply touched by the incident and wish them quick recovery,” he said. According to him, the attack did not disrupt the company�s crude oil production or export.
MEND advised civilians to stay clear of military checkpoints and vehicles across the delta, threatening to use remote explosive devices. It also threatened to shoot down helicopters.
“An attack on the Nigerian oil industry that will cause an economic tsunami in the world oil markets is imminent,” it said. MEND is an umbrella organisation for several heavily-armed militias in the Niger Delta, an impoverished region of mangrove-lined creeks and swamp which is home to all of Nigeria�s oil reserves.
They say they are fighting for regional control over the delta�s oil wealth and compensation for decades of pollution. But militancy is hard to distinguish from crime in the vast wetlands region, where kidnapping for ransom, piracy, crude oil theft and extortion are all big earners. Militant sources and oil company security consultants had earlier said they expected a major attack by a MEND-affiliated group in the Bonny area before the weekend, but MEND said it had moved the date of the raid to avoid being caught out.
“We have only decided to shift the timing so as not to walk into an ambush. This is �the mother of all attacks� that will rock the oil industry worldwide like a tsunami,” it said. Nigeria is pumping oil at a fifth below full capacity because of oilfield closures due to insecurity.
A series of attacks in February 2006 prompted Royal Dutch Shell to shut down its entire western delta operation, totaling 500,000 barrels per day, but it has been inching back into the area over the past six months.
The worst of the violence recently has been centred on the eastern delta around the city of Port Harcourt, which is close to the country�s largest oil and gas export zone on Bonny Island, which exports 400,000 barrels of oil per day. Rebels observed a four month ceasefire after the inauguration in May of President Umaru Yar�Adua, who promised to give urgent attention to the crisis.
But tentative contacts between the government and rebel groups broke down in September after the arrest of Henry Okah, a factional MEND leader, in Angola on gun-running charges.
Militants have grown increasingly suspicious of the government�s intentions, particularly after troops used helicopter gunships last month to attack a Port Harcourt militia leader who had signed up to the peace process.