The abduction of four Americans in south Nigeria on a subcontract job for Chevron Corp. underlines the continuing threat foreign oil workers face in the petroleum-rich and violent West African nation.
The workers were kidnapped while working in the country`s volatile Niger Delta, home to Nigeria`s vast oil and gas reserves, Nigerian news media reported.
'Four American employees of Global Industry Ltd. were taken hostage,' said a representative for Chevron Wednesday.
The abductions were carried out in the early hours of Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, Nigerian news sources reported.
The U.S. workers were believed to have been taken hostage by Nigeria`s leading armed militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.
MEND, along with other lesser-known militant groups, has called for more equitable distribution of Nigeria`s oil wealth, particularly in the country`s delta, where despite the generation of billions of dollars in oil revenue every year, the majority of people remain impoverished.
Since the 1970s, Nigeria, Africa`s No. 1 oil producer, has pumped more than $300 billion worth of crude from the southern delta states, according to estimates.
High unemployment in the delta, environmental degradation due to oil and gas extraction, and a lack of basic resources such as fresh water and electricity have angered the region`s youth, who have taken up arms, many times supplied by political leaders.
Militants have vowed to step up attacks until May 29 when President-election Alhaji Umar Musa Yar`Adua is scheduled to take over from Olusegun Obasanjo, who MEND says has facilitated corrupt government officials who spent the last eight years pilfering state coffers awash with petrodollars.
Yar`Adua, who hails from Obasanjo`s People`s Democratic Party, has appealed for calm following controversial elections last month that left many Nigerians accusing the government of voter fraud and intimidation at the hands of armed gunmen like MEND and others.
In addition to the dozens of kidnappings since the April 21 presidential election, MEND, in a statement, also took responsibility for Tuesday`s pipeline bombings in the southern state of Bayelsa, prompting Italy oil company Eni to shut down production in two oil fields that reportedly produced about 200,000 barrels per day.
Repairs to the lines are already under way, the company said in a statement
The MEND statement went on to assert that a ramped-up agenda of attacks is under way.
'We intend to destroy between now and May 29 more pipes than we have destroyed in the last one year,' it said.
Earlier this week protests by locals over a pipeline run by Chevron persuaded the U.S. firm to temporarily shut down production on the 42,000 bpd line. Many delta residents have expressed their anger with the foreign oil firms, blaming them for oil spills that pollute fishing waters and farmland.
Attacks against Chevron facilities have become more frequent since the beginning of the month. Following the abduction of six Chevron employees last Wednesday, the company decided to shut down an installation producing 15,000 bpd.
Meanwhile, MEND also showed a photo this week of the six hostages, among them one American worker. All six appear to be in good health, Vanguard newspaper reported. Another 14 workers abducted since the April 21 elections are being held by various armed groups.
Attacks and kidnappings in Nigeria, Africa`s largest oil producer, have sent shockwaves through the petroleum industry in recent weeks and have been blamed in part for the recent spike in world oil prices.
