Wednesday, November 17, 2010

8 ExxonMobil Crew Members Abducted in Nigeria

Attackers kidnap 8 ExxonMobil crew members in Nigeria

By Oil & Gas Financial Journal staff

Eight crew members were kidnapped from an ExxonMobil Corp. facility in Nigeria late Sunday, Nov. 14, according to news reports Monday
evening. The kidnapped crew were all Nigerian.

Gunmen boarded an offshore facility Sunday night in shallow water
offshore Nigeria's Akwa Ibom state, the latest in a string of
incidents in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region.

ExxonMobil released very few details about the incident, a company
spokesman confirmed that production on the facility had been shut in
as a precautionary measure.

The affected project is the huge Oso project, which has been targeted
in previous disruptions in Nigeria. Oso produces about 75,000 boe/day
with estimated reserves of 500 million barrels of oil, according to
previous Exxon Mobil information.

Earlier in the day, Exxon Mobil issued a statement saying that one of
its Nigerian platforms “was boarded by unknown armed persons.”

The statement continued, “Relevant government and security agencies
have been informed and appropriate response measures are under way at this time.”

It was reported that the attackers came in five “fast-boats.”

ExxonMobil says it is conducting a head count of employees to
determine who was kidnapped. The attackers allegedly beat up some crew members and cut electricity to the offshore facility. No ransom
demands have been received at this writing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To access this Article, go to:
http://www.pennenergy.com/pennenergy-2/en-us/index/articles/pe-article-tools-template.articles.oil-gas-financial-journal.e-__p.offshore.attackers-kidnap_8.html

No comments: