Oilmen kidnapped from Nigeria rig
Eight foreign oil workers have been kidnapped from an offshore oil rig in Nigeria, the rig's owner says.
The Nigerian military says six Britons, a Canadian and a US national were seized by armed men in the Niger Delta. No-one has admitted responsibility.
The rig reportedly sent out a distress call, saying it was under attack from between 20 and 30 men in speedboats.
There has been a spate of recent attacks in the region by militants, who want more local control of oil wealth.
They have kidnapped oil workers and warned them to leave the Delta.
The upsurge of attacks on foreign oil interests has cut Nigeria's oil production by 25% - a key factor in the high world price of crude oil.
Poverty and pollution
"Some unknown persons boarded the rig at 0300 [local time, 0200 GMT] and took eight workers," an executive from one of the companies that operate the Bulford Dolphin rig told Reuters news agency.
The rig, which is owned by the Norwegian company Fred Olsen Energy ASA, lies just off the coast, near the town of Warri.
Fred Olsen Energy financial director Jan Peter Valheim told the AFP news agency that between 40 and 50 people were on the rig when it was attacked but the others were safe.
The company says that drilling at the rig has been suspended.
A British Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: "We are in touch with both the Nigerian authorities and the men's company and are making urgent efforts to find out more information."
The Niger Delta is home to Nigeria's oil industry, but there is widespread poverty and numerous armed militia groups which operate in the area.
One group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), says it is fighting for greater local control of the oil revenues and compensation from oil companies for pollution in the Delta.
But the BBC's Alex Last in Lagos says in most previous cases armed groups have taken hostages to extort money from oil companies and the government.
In recent months, Mend has twice taken foreigners hostage in a series of raids and in both cases the men were eventually released unharmed, our correspondent says.
In April, Mend rejected President Olusegun Obasanjo's offer of thousands more jobs and a new motorway for the area, saying it did not address its demands for more local control of oil wealth and demilitarisation.
Since then the group has claimed responsibility for two car bomb attacks, one of which it said was a warning against Chinese expansion in the region.
The Nigerian military says six Britons, a Canadian and a US national were seized by armed men in the Niger Delta. No-one has admitted responsibility.
The rig reportedly sent out a distress call, saying it was under attack from between 20 and 30 men in speedboats.
There has been a spate of recent attacks in the region by militants, who want more local control of oil wealth.
They have kidnapped oil workers and warned them to leave the Delta.
The upsurge of attacks on foreign oil interests has cut Nigeria's oil production by 25% - a key factor in the high world price of crude oil.
Poverty and pollution
"Some unknown persons boarded the rig at 0300 [local time, 0200 GMT] and took eight workers," an executive from one of the companies that operate the Bulford Dolphin rig told Reuters news agency.
The rig, which is owned by the Norwegian company Fred Olsen Energy ASA, lies just off the coast, near the town of Warri.
Fred Olsen Energy financial director Jan Peter Valheim told the AFP news agency that between 40 and 50 people were on the rig when it was attacked but the others were safe.
The company says that drilling at the rig has been suspended.
A British Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: "We are in touch with both the Nigerian authorities and the men's company and are making urgent efforts to find out more information."
The Niger Delta is home to Nigeria's oil industry, but there is widespread poverty and numerous armed militia groups which operate in the area.
One group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), says it is fighting for greater local control of the oil revenues and compensation from oil companies for pollution in the Delta.
But the BBC's Alex Last in Lagos says in most previous cases armed groups have taken hostages to extort money from oil companies and the government.
In recent months, Mend has twice taken foreigners hostage in a series of raids and in both cases the men were eventually released unharmed, our correspondent says.
In April, Mend rejected President Olusegun Obasanjo's offer of thousands more jobs and a new motorway for the area, saying it did not address its demands for more local control of oil wealth and demilitarisation.
Since then the group has claimed responsibility for two car bomb attacks, one of which it said was a warning against Chinese expansion in the region.
posted by TIUranta at 8:19 AM
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