…Forces NNPC to shut valve due to gas leak
Oscarline Onwuemenyi
18 June 2016, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, announced yesterday that it had blown up a pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), the first attack following its proposal for a dialogue with the government.
The action by the militant group has forced the NNPC to shut a valve in a pipeline in the Niger Delta after a gas leak following an explosion, a community leader told a news agency yesterday.
“At 4:00am @NDAvengers blow up NNPC Pipeline in Oruk Anam Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom,” the terror group said on its Twitter account.
NDA spokesperson Murdoch Ogbinibo said in a website statement Monday “we only want a genuine attitude and conducive atmosphere that will make us commit to any proposed dialogue and lasting peace talks.”
The terrorists restated their “commitment to attack the interests of oil corporations and international operators of Nigerian refineries that bring in vessels to the Niger Delta territory to buy our oil,” in defence of improvements and development for the region, neglected by governments since 1958.
“If they refuse to heed to our advice, it will result in the sinking of two [of] their mother vessels as an example to others. They [oil companies] should not undertake any repair of pipelines, oil and gas facilities that are damaged or attacked by our forces during this period of “Operation Red Economy” until and/or after the dialogue,” said Agbinibo.
The attacks in the oil-rich, swampy Niger Delta region in southern Nigeria have disrupted crude supplies and help reduce the global oil glut. The sabotage has cut the OPEC member’s production to its lowest levels in roughly 20 years.
Nigeria’s May production dropped to 1.42 million barrels per day (MMBPD), from 1.67 MMBPD, according to secondary sources cited by OPEC. The country, which is no longer Africa’s largest oil producer, told the cartel it pumped 1.50 MMBPD last month, compared to 1.57 MMBPD in April.