Oil workers seized by armed gang

SIX British oil workers and two of their colleagues have been kidnapped by an armed gang from a rig operated by a Scottish-based firm off the coast of Nigeria.

An American and a Canadian were also taken when the gang of up to 30 men used speedboats to raid the Bulford Dolphin platform. Negotiations between the rebels and contractors running the rig were continuing last night.

Six of the abducted men, who have not yet been identified, work for Aberdeen-based firm Dolphin Drilling, which was operating the rig.

The attackers were said to have fired shots as they boarded the platform at about 3am yesterday using four boats.

The incident triggered a sharp rise in world oil prices and raised further fears over the safety of foreign firms working in the region. Drilling was stopped on the exploratory platform, which lies 40 miles off the Nigerian coast, and 20 of the 84 workers have been taken to the mainland "as a precaution".

A spokesman for Dolphin said that all the hostages' families had been informed but would not disclose further details.

In a statement, the company said: "Following an incident on the semi-submersible drilling rig this morning, eight personnel were removed from the rig. Operations on the rig have been shut and there are no reports of injuries or damage at the scene.

"We understand contact has been established between the men and the shore-based office in Nigeria. The group holding them are in negotiations with local representatives of the client company. The rest of the crew are safe on board the rig and making contact with relatives from the rig."

A spokeswoman for Nigeria's president, Olusegun Obasanjo, said the kidnappers were believed to have come from Ekeremor community in Bayelsa, a coastal state. She said: "President Obasanjo has been briefed that the crisis arose because of a breakdown in communication between the companies and the community. He is hoping that the leaders of the community, the traditional rulers, will help him in ensuring that the hostages are released expeditiously."

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: "These types of situations are not unusual in Nigeria, and we take them very seriously. We are in touch with both the Nigerian authorities and the men's company and making urgent efforts to find out more information."

The rig's owner, Fred Olsen Energy ASA, said it had made contact with the abducted men. It said the kidnappers gave no details on their identity or demands.

Nigerian police said no group had yet claimed responsibility or made any demands. They said security agencies were trailing them.

Nigeria is the world's eighth largest oil exporter, but armed militia groups operating in the Niger Delta have cut production by 25 per cent, contributing to several spikes in world prices.

It is not yet known if the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is involved in the kidnapping. The group is fighting for greater local control of the oil revenues and compensation from oil companies for pollution in the delta.

In January, Nigel Watson-Clark, 50, a father of four from Saltford, near Bath, was held for 19 days by rebels after a raid on an offshore platform.

Yesterday he said the kidnappings had brought memories of his hostage ordeal flooding back. "I can imagine what they're going through and how their families must feel," he said. "It does appear that things are deteriorating in the country."

Jake Molloy, the general secretary of the oil workers' union, OILC, said scores of Scottish oilmen were now working in Nigeria. He said: "Shell's Bonga project, one of the world's largest floating production and storage units, has a considerable number of ex-pats working on it just now in Nigeria and there are a number of drilling units out there with a large number of Scots working on them. The delta region is a tinderbox just waiting to go up and we have consistently advised workers that they have to think long and hard about going there because the whole situation is so volatile."

Dolphin Drilling was established in 1965 and has carried out offshore oil drilling operations all over the world, according to the company's website. Bulford Dolphin is leased to Nigerian firm Peak Petroleum which operates it in partnership with Equator Exploration. It is not expected to produce any crude oil for several years.

In London, the cost of Brent crude traded on the ICE Futures exchange went up 50 cents to hit 69.89 dollars per barrel as a result of the abductions. Light sweet crude for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 1.26 dollars to 71.60 dollars a barrel.