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December 29, 2005
Nigeria says attack likely caused pipeline fires
LAGOS, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Fires that broke out along two pipelines in the southern Nigerian state of Delta on Tuesday were most likely caused by an attack rather than attempted oil theft, the state oil company said on Thursday.
Thu 29 Dec 2005 8:46 AM ET
(Adds details, quotes)
"It was a wilful act of destruction," said Levi Ajuonuma, spokesman for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Asked whether NNPC suspected an attempt at stealing from the pipeline -- a common problem in the Niger Delta -- or a deliberate attack, he said: "We are looking at it as an attack."
The pipeline fires in Delta came just one week after unknown gunmen attacked two Royal Dutch Shell
The Niger Delta accounts for almost all of Nigeria's 2.4 million bpd crude output.
Ajuonuma said the situation at the Delta pipelines was now under control and there was no disruption to supply of petroleum products from the Warri refinery in Delta to northern Nigeria, or of crude oil to the Kaduna refinery in the north.
The pipelines are operated by the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), an arm of NNPC.
"There is a high security alert in the area right now. Government is not going to stand by and let people disrupt our economy. Security agencies are working around the clock to ensure there is no reoccurrence," Ajuonuma said.
He said he was not aware of any deployment of extra troops in the Niger Delta, as reported by several Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
Posted by Publisher at December 29, 2005 04:09 PM
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