MEND plots Trans-Saharan pipeline attack

LAGOS, Nigeria, July 13 (UPI) -- Nigerian militants threatened major attacks on the Trans-Saharan gas pipeline as their demands for international oil companies to leave the country grow.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta launched a series of attacks on oil pipelines run by oil majors Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell in recent days.

Meanwhile, Algeria, Niger and Nigeria signed agreements to plan construction for the $10 billion Trans-Saharan gas pipeline recently to bring as much as 1.05 billion cubic feet of gas to Europe each year.

Last week the pipeline gained renewed interest when Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said it would invest in the project through a joint venture with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.

MEND in its latest threats against national pipelines said the Trans-Saharan gas pipeline is among its targets, reports the online Oil and Gas Journal.

"We will ensure that it faces the same fate other pipelines are facing today," a statement from MEND read.

Nigerian military officials claim MEND does not have the capability to conduct anything more than small-scale attacks, though the sustained militancy in the region has resulted in declines in Nigerian oil production from 2.6 million barrels per day in 2008 to 1.8 million currently.