Government troops in Nigeria on Thursday repelled an attack by an armed group near a key oil export terminal in the southern Niger Delta, the commander of a special military unit said
Government troops in Nigeria on Thursday repelled an attack by an armed group near a key oil export terminal in the southern Niger Delta, the commander of a special military unit said.
The Escravos oil terminal is operated by the US oil giant Chevron, which this week suspended its export contracts on much of its Nigerian production following a militant attack last week.
"They came in 10 speed boats, we sank two of them and the rest escaped," Brigadier Wuyep Rimtip, commander of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) told AFP in a telephone interview from the oil hub.
He could not be drawn into stating if the attack targeted the Chevron facility, which he said was unscathed during the botched attempt around 1130 am (1030 GMT).
"I cannot say they were targetting the Chevron facility, but our men (troops guarding oil installations). But the facility is safe," he said.
Militant attacks on oil pipelines, other facilities and workers since January 2006 have cut Nigeria's daily production by more than one quarter -- falling from about 2.6 million barrels to about two million now.
According to OPEC figures, Angola has overtaken Nigeria and is now Africa's biggest oil producer.
Author:
Jo Amey
