Militants bomb pipeline in sophisticated under water attack Nigeria-based diplomats and security experts say the attack showed a level of skill and inside intelligence rarely seen since the 2004-2009 insurgency.
A sophisticated attack on a sub-sea pipeline in Nigeria's Delta might herald a return to the kind of widespread militant violence that crippled the oil industry in Africa’s top producer less than a decade ago. Attacks on oil facilities have been on the rise in the swamps since President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to shake up a fraud-ridden amnesty program for rebels who stopped blowing up pipelines in 2009 in exchange for cash and generous contracts. Adding a new dimension, unknown militants – probably using divers – hit a Shell underwater pipeline last month, interrupting oil flows and forcing the company to shut down its 250,000 barrel-a-day Forcados export terminal for weeks. READ: Niger Delta - Militants threaten to blow up more pipelines Nigeria-based diplomats and security experts say the attack showed a level of skill and inside intelligence rarely seen since the 2004-2009 insurgency, which at its height halved Nigeria’s oil output of around 2 millions b...