The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) have shifted their attack to the oil rich Bayelsa State, bombing two crude oil terminal classified by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), as the onshore Bonny and Brass Terminals which are connected to the line that have capacities to handle up to 5,700,000bpd and 3,271,000bpd of crude oil respectively.
The massive attack on two production facilities, which run for up to 100 kilometres (62 miles) through the Nembe Creek 1, 2, and 3 Brass to Bonny Trunk Line, and belong to Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and Aiteo Group, occurred in the early hours of Saturday at about 2.15am .
Africa Update gathered that the militants had engaged a team of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the creeks of Bayelsa, following the twin blasts. Confirming the incident, the State Commandant for NSCDC, Mr. Desmond Agu, said “We have deployed two teams to the two different locations where Agip pipelines were attacked in the state. Our team heading for the Southern Ijaw location discovered that the militants laid an ambush in the area. We will soon clear the area and ascertain the extent of damage done to the pipeline.”
This trunk pipeline which originally belonged to oil giant, Shell Nigeria, (Oil Mining License (OML) 29) was sold to Aiteo for $2.7 billion in 2014.
The pipeline our source revealed, is very valuable to operators in the oil and gas sector, who use it to move Crude oil to the international markets through the export terminal.
The Nembe pipeline was first damaged with the Trans-Niger pipeline in August last year., and this attack is coming, on the heels of the arrest of about seven suspected members of the militant group by officers of the Joint Task Force (JTF) code named ‘Operation Pulo Shield’, during the invasion of Oporoza community in Warri South West Council Area of Delta State,. Okporoza, is incidentally the home base of former militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo a.k.a. Tompolo.
Contrary to initial information that just the Nembe trunk line was affected, the two attacks on pipelines at two different locations occurred in Nembe and Southern Ijaw local government areas of the state.
