For the umpteenth time, militant group, Niger Delta Avengers, Monday
night, bombed a crude oil export pipeline belonging to American oil
company, Exxon Mobil. The bombing came as other oil companies, Shell and
Chevron, evacuated over 700 staff made up of expatriates and local oil
workers in Bayelsa State as attacks on oil platforms are intensified.
The export of 180,000 barrels of oil per day by Shell was also halted as
it shut its Trans-Niger Pipeline following attacks by militants.
The group, in a statement on its website, said it blew up the pipeline
following the refusal of Exxon Mobil to heed its warning to cease
exportation of oil from the Niger Delta until its demands on the Federal
Government are met.
The statement signed by its spokesman, Brig-Gen Mudock Agbinibo, said the
group shredded the Qua Iboe 48th Crude Oil pipeline at about 7:30 pm
monday night.
“At about 7:30pm the Niger Delta Avengers blow up Exxon Qua Iboe 48″
crude oil export pipeline. When will these International Oil companies
(IOC) learn to listen? We (Niger Delta Avengers) said no export”, the
statement read.
The shutdown of the Trans-Niger pipeline is expected to affect power
generation as the facility is linked to domestic power supply through gas
supply to Afam VI Power Plant.
“SPDC shut down the Trans Niger Pipeline today, July 11, 2016, following a
leak at Gio in Ogoniland. We are working towards a joint investigation
visit into the cause of the leak, preparatory to repair of the line,” the
company said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the International Oil Companies (IOCs) have predicated the
evacuation of staff from the Niger Delta region on the danger posed to
their lives by the activities of militants in addition to requests by the
concerned staff to be posted out of Nigeria.
“The individual companies have made the expatriates the number one
priority in the evacuation of staff from the troubled region based on the
belief that they are endangered species, but some expatriates went further
with requests to be posted out of the country pending when the new Niger
Delta question is answered”, an industry source said.