Related: Militants attack Chevron pipeline in Nigeria
A Nigerian militant group has claimed that it has destroyed an oil-pumping station in the Niger Delta that is operated by US energy giant Chevron.
A spokesman for the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Jomo Gbomo, told news agency Bloomberg in an emailed statement that the alleged attack took place at 2am local time “resulting in a massive fire that is consuming the entire facility” .
However it was also reported that a Nigerian security official, Rabe Abubakar, denied that the facility was destroyed.
“The suspected militants came in their dozens to carry out the nefarious acts and this led to heavy exchange of gunfire,” he is reported as saying.
A spokesman from Chevron refused to speculate on the attacks until a full investigation is completed.
MEND has stepped up its attacks in recent weeks. ArabianOilandGas reported that a Chevron pipeline was bombed at the weekend. The militants are targeting Nigeria’s oil infrastructure in a bid to win a greater share of the country’s oil wealth for local communities.
