By: Latoyia Kimbrough
An article on the CNN website reported on Thursday that MEND, the largest rebel group in Niger Delta, sent three military gunboats to attack a government camp in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta region around the Ke River. This attack was apart of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta and six government soldiers were killed. The militants maintained that the gunboats were there to prevent the government boats from entering the river state. The government gave no immediate response to the attack.
Nigeria is Africa's largest crude oil producer and the fourth-largest supplier of oil to the United States. The rebel group MEND has demanded that more of the country's oil wealth be given to the region instead of making foreign investors richer. They hope to obtain a greater share of the oil wealth for the people in the delta, where over 70 percent of the population lives on less than one dollar a day.
The militant group has been attacking oil pipelines since 2006 in retaliation against government forces in an effort to limit the amount of crude oil that leaves the country. It has bombed pipelines and kidnapped hundreds of foreign oil workers but this worked are usually released without being harm after they are given a ransom payment. The attacks on oil facilities have taken a toll on foreign investors. “Anytime a pipeline is affected, anytime any production gets shut down, you see oil prices jump up one or two dollars a barrel just because there is no slack in the system," said Jim LeCamp, a senior vice president with RBC Wealth Management. The attacks have hurt Exxon and Shell who are two of several companies that have been extracting 2 million barrels of oil a day in Nigeria. The decrease in production comes at a bad time when regions such as China, Russia and Latin America have an increase in demand.
Nigeria is Africa's largest crude oil producer and the fourth-largest supplier of oil to the United States. The rebel group MEND has demanded that more of the country's oil wealth be given to the region instead of making foreign investors richer. They hope to obtain a greater share of the oil wealth for the people in the delta, where over 70 percent of the population lives on less than one dollar a day.
The militant group has been attacking oil pipelines since 2006 in retaliation against government forces in an effort to limit the amount of crude oil that leaves the country. It has bombed pipelines and kidnapped hundreds of foreign oil workers but this worked are usually released without being harm after they are given a ransom payment. The attacks on oil facilities have taken a toll on foreign investors. “Anytime a pipeline is affected, anytime any production gets shut down, you see oil prices jump up one or two dollars a barrel just because there is no slack in the system," said Jim LeCamp, a senior vice president with RBC Wealth Management. The attacks have hurt Exxon and Shell who are two of several companies that have been extracting 2 million barrels of oil a day in Nigeria. The decrease in production comes at a bad time when regions such as China, Russia and Latin America have an increase in demand.
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