Over 150 Shell workers held on rigs

Militant youths are holding about 165 oil workers hostage on oil rigs in Bayelsa State, southeastern Nigeria, a Shell spokesman in Lagos told IRIN on Wednesday. The hostages, about 145 Nigerians and 20 expatriates, “are restricted to their rigs,” he said, adding that the expatriates are of various nationalities, including Americans, British, Australian and Lebanese. The two rigs are owned by Mallard Bay Nigeria Ltd, an oil servicing company to Shell and have been occupied since Monday by the youths. “About 35 to 40 people arrived in eight fast boats and more kept coming,” the Shell source said. They demanded immediate employment with the contractors providing security and catering services to the rigs but made no specific demands to Shell. Work is unable to continue on the rigs because safety clearance cannot be given, Shell said, adding that no reports of casualties had been received. Militant youths often disrupt oil production in the Niger Delta either by kidnapping workers or by vandalising oil pipes. Just over a week ago two Chinese oil employees of the China National Petroleum Corporation were kidnapped by militant youths after a gun battle with security officials. A military official was reported by AFP as saying that 40 people, most of them Nigerians, had been abducted the week before. The local authorities have been notified of Monday’s incident and dialogue between the two parties is ongoing, Shell said.