Niger militants attack Chevron oil manifold

The main Nigerian militant group says it has forced the closure of a manifold owned by the US oil giant Chevron in the Western Niger Delta.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) on Monday, claimed it wrecked one of the Chevron Nigeria Limited's (CNL) oil pipeline junction points in the Okan offshore field, Reuters reported.

"The strategic Okan manifold…was blown up at about 2045 hours on Sunday," MEND was quoted as saying.

The CNL, which has also launched massive ventures into Nigeria's gas reserves, has been operating in the field for more than 40 years.

Last month, Chevron airlifted nearly 350 staffers and contractors to safe areas after the rebels set fire to one of its pumping stations.

The MEND has launched the fiercest insurgency in the southern Niger Delta against the country's military and the operating foreign oil firms which it accuses of decades-long exploitation of the crude.

The state of hostility has accounted for the slumping of Nigeria's oil output by about a quarter over the past two years.

The attack comes as the government has announced a period of amnesty for all rebels from August 6 to October 4 during which they will be allowed to avoid prosecution by laying down arms.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=99906&sectionid=351020505