Nigerian oil workers have called off a proposed strike following two days of talks between the government and union leaders, with both sides agreeing to create a joint panel to discuss the workers' complaints about violence in the petroleum-rich Niger Delta.

The Nigerian government has announced it will bolster security in the petroleum-rich Niger Delta to combat the region's armed gunmen, following reports that oil production has reached a new low in the region.

Nigeria's leading oil-worker unions have given the government 21 days to improve the security situation in the petroleum-rich Niger Delta before they declare an industry-wide strike.

MIAMI, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Nigerian oil workers are protesting against unsafe working conditions in the Niger Delta caused by the ongoing violence wrought by armed militant groups and gangs, which has increased in recent weeks to include high-profile kidnappings.

Nigerian forces said they have killed the head of one of the country's notorious gangs in the oil-rich Niger Delta, part of an ongoing battle between gunmen and Nigerian forces in the region.

Ten oil workers kidnapped last month off the coast of Cameroon were freed after weeks of being held captive by militant groups waging attacks off the coast of the Bakassi Peninsula, a highly coveted oil-producing region that earlier this year was handed over to Cameroon from neighboring Nigeria after decades of dispute.

Now that Nigeria has handed the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to neighboring Cameroon following a protracted war of words that threatened to escalate, military officials in Cameroon are demanding compensation for their role in the deal.

Nigeria appears ready to make good on its promise to hand over the once-contested and oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to its neighbor Cameroon.

Chevron Corp. has declared a force majeure on its oil exports following a particularly destructive attack on one of its installations in the Niger Delta.