NIGERIA: British Royal Navy's HMS CHATHAM in Lagos has not been asked to help after eight foreign oil workers were kidnapped from an offshore oil rig

Record ID: 236334

  • Title: NIGERIA: British Royal Navy's HMS CHATHAM in Lagos has not been asked to help after eight foreign oil workers were kidnapped from an offshore oil rig
  • Date: 3rd June 2006
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAPTAIN JAMES MORSE, BRITAIN'S ROYAL NAVY, SAYING: "The situation is been monitored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on behalf of UK government but clearly it's a Nigerian issue to deal with, and that no request for assistance from HMS CHATHAM has been received at the moment."
  • Embargoed: 18th June 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA74IRWHRXDE7262QK7EW5VRXRK
  • Story Text: Negotiators in Nigeria's oil-producing southern delta were seeking the release on Saturday (June 3) of eight foreign workers kidnapped from an oil rig by gunmen demanding jobs and development for their community.
    Six Britons, one Canadian and one American were seized from an offshore rig on Friday (June 2), raising new security fears after a campaign of militant attacks earlier this year that have cut a quarter of crude oil output from Africa's top producer.
    The British Royal Navy's HMS CHATAM is in Nigeria, but the crew has not yet been contacted to help.
    "The situation is been monitored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on behalf of UK government but clearly it's a Nigerian issue to deal with, and that no request for assistance from HMS CHATAM has been received at the moment," said Captain James Morse.
    Abductions are a common tactic by disgruntled groups in the Niger Delta, a vast, impoverished wetland that produces the bulk of Nigeria's 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil. Local people have seen few benefits from the industry.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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