Nigerian oil field shut after U.S. worker seized

Royal Dutch Shell halts production following attack 65 miles offshore

LAGOS, Nigeria – An offshore oil field that produces about 200,000 barrels per day was shut down Thursday after Nigeria’s most powerful militant group attacked an installation.

The group also said it captured an American worker on a supply vessel in the area of the rig.


A leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta told The Associated Press that militants attacked the Bonga oil field more than 65 miles from land. But the fighters weren’t able to enter a computer control room, which they had hoped to destroy.

The militant leader spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid punishment by authorities.

Olav Ljosne, a spokesman for Royal Dutch Shell, confirmed an attack, but gave no details. He said production had been stopped from the field, which normally produces about 200,000 barrels of crude per day.

AP