Niger Delta Avengers, a militant group operating in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger River region, said it attacked five crude-pumping facilities overnight Sunday, dealing a blow to the government’s effort to enforce a cease-fire.
The targets included Chevron Corp.’s oil wells 7 and 8 and three trunk lines belonging to Nigerian Petroleum Development Corp., the exploration unit of the state oil company, according to tweets from an account claiming to represent the militants. The Twitter account hasn’t been verified.
Chevron didn’t immediately respond to calls and an e-mail seeking comment outside normal office hours. Garba Deen Muhammad, the spokesman of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., didn’t answer two calls made to his mobile telephone.
Attacks on oil facilities this year helped to cut Nigeria’s monthly oil production to about 1.4 million barrels a day in May, the lowest in almost three decades, according to the International Energy Agency, helping to boost global crude prices.
Petroleum Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu said on June 27 that a cease-fire agreement reached with the group has allowed repairs and restoration of output to around 1.8 million barrels a day.