ABUJA, Nigeria, May 18 (UPI) -- Italian energy company Eni confirmed Wednesday one of its Nigerian pipelines was the target of a militant attack with equity production curtailed as a result.
A militant group in Nigeria calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers has launched a series of attacks on regional infrastructure in an act of war against environmental degradation and corruption in the region. The group took credit for knocking Chevron operations offline and warned energy companies last week they "have not seen anything yet."
A spokesperson for Eni confirmed in an emailed statement one of its pipelines in the region was the target of sabotage. The spokesperson said the attack impacted some of its equity production in the region.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack and Eni offered no further information when pressed for details.
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The Italian company operates in Nigeria through the Nigerian Agip Oil Co. The Nigerian subsidiary operates two onshore exploration sites and helps manage export terminals and a network of natural gas pipelines.
As of 2013, the last full year for which Eni provided data, its equity production was around 125,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
A country profile from the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Nigerian production peaked at 2.4 million bpd in 2005, and activity since then has been curbed in part by violence in the Niger Delta region that forced many energy companies to evacuate their staff.
Nigeria is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. In its latest market report, OPEC said Nigeria was producing an average 1.7 million barrels of oil per day.
