Nigerian militants say they blew up Exxon Mobil's pipeline

Reuters

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigerian militant group Niger Delta Avengers, which has claimed responsibility for the majority of a recent spate of attacks on oil and gas facilities in the country, said late on Monday that it blew up an Exxon Mobil Corp facility. The militants, whose attacks briefly pushed Nigeria's crude production to 30-year lows in spring, said they want a greater share of the OPEC member's energy wealth to go to the impoverished southern Niger Delta, the source of most of the country's oil. "At about 7:30pm the Niger Delta Avengers blow up ExxonMobile Qua Iboe 48" crude oil export pipeline," the militant group said in a statement on its website. "When will these international oil companies (IOC) learn to listen. We (Niger Delta Avengers) said no export," it added. Exxon Mobil Corp could not immediately be reached for comment. (Reporting by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru and Alexis Akwagyiram in Lagos; Editing by Richard Chang)