8 foreign workers abducted from Nigeria oil rig

[Janice]

Britons, Canadian and U.S. citizen taken from drilling platform

LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- Armed attackers stormed an oil rig off the coast of Nigeria, kidnapping eight foreign workers and raising new fears over security in Africa's top oil producing nation.

One Canadian, six Britons and a U.S. citizen were abducted in Friday's pre-dawn raid on the Burford Dolphin rig, a spokesman for Norwegian company Fred. Olsen, which controls the oil platform, told CNN.

The Reuters news service said Fred Olsen representatives had made contact with the kidnapped men and their unidentified captors, who were said to be seeking negotiations.

It was not known what their demands were.

There was no immediate indication of any link to a campaign of attacks and abductions by the militant Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which has cut Nigeria's oil exports by a quarter.

MEND has usually claimed its attacks within minutes by sending emails to media, but there was no word from the group on Friday and they did not immediately respond to messages, Reuters said.

CNN journalist Christian Purefoy, speaking from Lagos, said between 20 and 40 attackers were involved in the incident at the rig, which is leased to Nigerian firm Peak Petroleum.

Fred. Olsen said 84 crew were on the paltform at the time of the attack. All but those abducted were safe, and non-essential staff were being evacuated to the oil city of Port Harcourt, Reuters said.

The kidnappings are likely to cause embarrassment to Nigerian authorities and particularly the navy, which was due to celebrate its 50th anniversary with an international fleet review by President Olusegun Obasanjo in Lagos later on Friday, the Reuters news agency reported.

"The timing of the attack comes as things in the Delta seem to be getting worse," Purefoy said.

"No one has owned up to the attack, but it does show increasing lawlessness in the area."

MEND's campaign of attacks and kidnappings in January and February forced oil companies to shut down a quarter of OPEC member Nigeria's 2.4 million barrels per day production of crude.

The attacks contributed to several spikes in world oil prices. Nigeria is the world's eighth-biggest exporter of oil and the fifth largest supplier to the United States, where its sweet, easy-to-refine crude is highly prized.

[CentralFlGal]

Over half a year and this is still happening. We don't hear too much about it in the mainstream media; guess they can't afford to detract from american idol voting. Bread and circuses win every time. Until gas prices go up more.

From January:
Militants storming oil platforms; taking hostages - Nigeria
http://www.storm2k.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?p=1194470&highlight=nigeria#1194470

My thoughts go out to the hostages and their families.