Sabotage against an oil pipeline

Sabotage against an oil pipeline in the Niger Delta of Nigeria forced the shutdown of production, Italian energy company Eni SpA said Saturday.

The Nigerian Agip Oil Company informed Eni that on Friday night there was an “act of sabotage” against the Tebidaba-Brass pipeline. Eni is Agip’s parent company.

“Production was immediately shut down and the affected pipeline was isolated,” Eni said in a statement. “The situation is under control,” Eni said, adding that pollution containment measures were being taken.

The volatile delta region has been marked by hostage-taking and other violence that have seen Nigeria’s oil exports cut by 20 percent.

Militants say they want a greater share of oil wealth on behalf of the delta’s inhabitants who have remained poor even though most of Nigeria’s oil is being pumped from the swampy region. The Nigerian government has dismissed the militants as criminals and oil thieves.

In January, attackers raided Agip offices in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, sparking a gunfight that left nine dead.

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