http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/militants-kidnap-7-nigerian-exxon-platfo
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Oil-rig securityMilitants kidnap 7 from Nigerian Exxon platform
Published 17 November 2010
After the 9/11 attacks, Bin Laden boasted that he used an operation which
cost al Qaeda $500,000 to finance to inflict a $500 billion damage on the
U.S. economy; this was not a mere boast: experts say it was an indication
that econo-jihad was an integral part of al Qaeda's strategy to weaken and
defeat the West; the recent BP disaster offered an example of one tactics
terrorists may pursue in order to inflict serious economic and environmental
damage on the United States and other countries: attack off-shore oil rigs:
these rigs are utterly vulnerable to attack, and the damage such an attack
can do is considerable; in Nigeria, a militant organization is already
attacking oil rigs -- if, for now, only to kidnap rig workers in order to
blackmail their employers for money and political concessions; the ease with
which such attacks are carried out should give all of us a pause
Back in July we wrote:
The BP disaster offers new venue for terrorists: blowing up off-shore oil
rigs in order to inflict vast economic and environmental damage and impose
steep costs on the U.S. government and private companies. Terrorists can
make such attacks on the cheap because oil rigs are unprotected and
completely vulnerable. Lawmakers note that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) now requires that atomic generators withstand plane crashes. Senator
Jim Webb says that similar standards should be considered for the oil and
gas industries; in a letter to President Obama he says: "While Congress will
continue to scrutinize BP and regulatory agencies, I write to urge you to
also be vigilant against deliberate acts, such as an attack or sabotage,
that could similarly devastate the region" ("New worry: terrorists may blow
up off-shore oil rigs," 13 July 2010
<http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/../../../../../../new-worry-terrorists-
may-blow-shore-oil-rigs> HSNW).
Recent events in Nigeria should focus our attention on the serious problem
of oil-rig vulnerability. Nigeria's main militant group said on Tuesday it
was behind an attack on an Exxon Mobil oil platform and it had kidnapped
seven Nigerian workers, the second such raid for which it has claimed
responsibility in a week.
The U.S. energy firm said armed men boarded the offshore facility, operated
by its Mobil Producing Nigeria unit in a joint venture with the state-run
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), late on Sunday but gave no
further details.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it had
detonated explosives rigged to the facility and kidnapped seven local
workers. There was no independent confirmation of any damage to the
platform.
The group warned of further attacks in the heartland of Africa's biggest oil
and gas industry.
"In the coming weeks, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
will launch a major operation that will simultaneously affect oil facilities
across the Niger Delta," it said in a statement emailed to the media.
All Africa reports <http://allafrica.com/stories/201011170217.html> that
previous campaigns by MEND fighters have knocked out a significant
proportion of the OPEC member's oil production, currently averaging about
2.2 million barrels per day (bpd), and cost it as much as $1 billion a month
in lost revenues.
Renewed unrest in the region would be an embarrassment for President
Goodluck Jonathan in the run-up to April elections. Jonathan is the first
head of state from the Niger Delta and brokered an amnesty with militants
more than a year ago.
The Exxon attack took place a week after a similar raid on a rig operated by
the exploration firm Afren in the same waters off the state of Akwa Ibom, in
which two Americans, two Frenchmen, two Indonesians and a Canadian were
kidnapped.
The military threatened on Saturday to raid the camps of armed gangs in the
creeks of the Niger Delta, warning civilians to leave before what could be
its first major offensive in the region since a government amnesty program
began last August.
All Africa quotes MEND to say that one military operation had already been
carried out against one of its camps in Rivers state on Monday, adding
clashes would endanger the lives of the hostages it was holding. "Expatriate
hostages held at this location had to be removed and relocated for their
safety as rocket attacks by the Nigerian military came very close," the
group said.
There was no immediate confirmation from the military of any operation in
Rivers state.
A security source said Sunday's attack was took placed at a platform in the
Oso field, one of Nigeria's biggest condensate fields with about eight
platforms whose total output averages about 75,000 bpd.
"Relevant government and security agencies have been informed and
appropriate response measures are under way," Exxon said in a statement,
without commenting on the potential effect on output.
Oil firms in the Niger Delta suffered years of attacks until the amnesty
program bought more than a year of relative peace.
The militants were always divided, and although many of the field commanders
agreed to lay down their weapons, new leaders have started to emerge,
security experts say.
Besides the attack on Afren, MEND claimed responsibility for two car
bombings in Abuja which killed at least 10 people near an independence day
parade on October 1. It was the group's first attack in the capital.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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Brooks Isoldi, editor
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http://www.intellnet.org
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