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| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Nigerian attack closes oilfield | Nigerian attack closes oilfield |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Oil company Royal Dutch Shell says it has temporarily stopped production at its main offshore oilfield in Nigeria, following a militant attack. | Oil company Royal Dutch Shell says it has temporarily stopped production at its main offshore oilfield in Nigeria, following a militant attack. |
| The raid took place overnight on the Bonga oil platform about 120km (75 miles) off the coast of the Niger Delta, the company said. | The raid took place overnight on the Bonga oil platform about 120km (75 miles) off the coast of the Niger Delta, the company said. |
| It is the first attack on the oilfield, which normally produces about 200,000 barrels a day. | It is the first attack on the oilfield, which normally produces about 200,000 barrels a day. |
| Shell has also been blamed for an oil spill in the Ogoni region of the Delta. | |
| Oil is gushing from disused pipes abandoned by the company when it left the region nearly 15 years ago, following local protests. | |
| Attacks on the inshore Niger Delta have helped drive up world oil prices. | Attacks on the inshore Niger Delta have helped drive up world oil prices. |
| Nigeria's valuable offshore oilfields had always been considered difficult for most militants to target, the BBC's Alex Last reports from Lagos. | Nigeria's valuable offshore oilfields had always been considered difficult for most militants to target, the BBC's Alex Last reports from Lagos. |
| But early on Thursday gunmen in boats reached the Bonga installation, Shell's flagship project, for the first time. | But early on Thursday gunmen in boats reached the Bonga installation, Shell's flagship project, for the first time. |
| A Nigerian navy spokesman confirmed reports that militants had kidnapped a US oil worker from a separate vessel on their way back from the raid. | A Nigerian navy spokesman confirmed reports that militants had kidnapped a US oil worker from a separate vessel on their way back from the raid. |
| The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) claimed it carried out the attack in an e-mail sent to journalists and said the American would be released "in the coming hours". | |
| The gunmen failed to get inside the installation's control room, but attacked a key vessel used for production storage and offloading, a Shell spokesman said. | |
| Several people were reported to have been injured. | Several people were reported to have been injured. |
| Mend says it is campaigning for a greater share of the region's oil wealth to be kept by local people, but the government says they are criminals, motivated by the ransoms they receive from oil companies. | |
| Sophisticated | |
| The shutdown has cut a tenth of Nigeria's total output in one go. | The shutdown has cut a tenth of Nigeria's total output in one go. |
| This comes on top of a reduction of at least 20% in recent years following inland attacks. | This comes on top of a reduction of at least 20% in recent years following inland attacks. |
| Our correspondent says Bonga was new, expensive and working well despite the difficulties and repeated attacks affecting the company's inshore operations in the Delta. | Our correspondent says Bonga was new, expensive and working well despite the difficulties and repeated attacks affecting the company's inshore operations in the Delta. |
| The militants in the Delta are getting more sophisticated and better equipped and armed, he says. | The militants in the Delta are getting more sophisticated and better equipped and armed, he says. |
| Now they have proven that in terms of distance at least, all of Nigeria's facilities are within their reach. | Now they have proven that in terms of distance at least, all of Nigeria's facilities are within their reach. |
| Amnesty | |
| Next month, a peace summit organised by the government on the Niger Delta unrest is due to begin in the capital, Abuja. | Next month, a peace summit organised by the government on the Niger Delta unrest is due to begin in the capital, Abuja. |
| The government has promised amnesties to any militants who take part. | The government has promised amnesties to any militants who take part. |
| Mend has refused to attend unless Henry Okah, one of their leaders currently on trial for treason and gun-running, is also granted amnesty. | Mend has refused to attend unless Henry Okah, one of their leaders currently on trial for treason and gun-running, is also granted amnesty. |
| But the government has refused. | But the government has refused. |
| "We want everyone to be there to air their grievances," vice-presidential aide Akilu Indabawa told the BBC's Hausa Service. | "We want everyone to be there to air their grievances," vice-presidential aide Akilu Indabawa told the BBC's Hausa Service. |
| "But in Henry Okah's case the issue is in front of a court and the government can't intervene because it respects the rule of law." | "But in Henry Okah's case the issue is in front of a court and the government can't intervene because it respects the rule of law." |
| Ogoni spill | |
| Local activists in the Ogoni region have asked Shell to come and contain the oil spill that has covered farmland and villages. | |
| Last week the government revoked Shell's rights to drill for oil in Ogoni saying the company had "lost the trust" of the local community. | |
| Shell stopped drilling there in 1993 after pressure from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop) and it has not returned since. |