[allAfrica.com] Militants Attack On Country's Pipeline Pushes Oil Prices Above Leadership (Abuja) NEWS 22 April 2008 Posted to the web 22 April 2008 Niger Delta World oil prices yesterday hit a record of $117.40 a barrel following militants attacks on pipelines in Nigeria, the hitting of a Japanese oil tanker by a rocket and the weak US dollar. At the weekend, oil prices rose to touch $117 for the first time after an attack on a Royal Dutch Shell PLC pipeline by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. Shell, which confirmed the attack linked it to explosives,the oil gaint said a little quantity of production had been shut as a result of a leakage caused by the attack. The militant group behind the attack who claimed that they have launched two more attacks on oil pipelines yesterday says they are doing that to stop injustice to the region but the governor of Rivers State,Rotimi Amaechi, had, at a Niger Delta oil security forum in Abuja, debunked this claim by the militants saying that they are only self seeking criminals who are into purely economic venture for themselves. Amaechi argued that if the militants are fighting injustice they will not be kidnapping children and indegenes of the Niger Delta region and demanding ransome. He described the Niger Delta struggle as an economic one currently spearheaded by selfish motivated criminals who have become commonly known as militants. However, the governor did not undermine the sufferings of the people of the region as he condemned the oil companies over their refusal to put a concrete developmental initiative in place and their relocation to Lagos and Abuja. Whereas, the Niger Delta produces the entire oil resource. Nigeria is a major supplier of oil to the U.S. The Kyodo news agency reported that the 150,000-ton Japanese tanker Takayama was attacked about 270 miles off the east coast Yemen coast in the Gulf of Aden while it was heading for Saudi Arabia, its Japanese operator, Nippon Yusen K.K., said in a statement. None of the ship's 23 crew members was injured. Hundreds of gallons of fuel leaked before a 1-inch hole in the tanker's stern was repaired, the company said.The agency said that the Japanese tanker was fired on by a rocket launcher from a small boat. Later New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, stood at 117.10 dollars, up 41 cents from Friday's close. At the same time, London's Brent North Sea crude for June delivery hit a record pinnacle at 114.65 dollars per barrel. It later stood at 114.37 dollars, up 45 cents. "The oil markets have made a fresh record high of 117.40 dollars, supported by geopolitical concerns surrounding Nigeria and comments from OPEC, who over the weekend once again reiterated their reluctance to increase production," Sucden analyst Nimit Khamar said. Monday's new record price levels beat the previous peaks that were forged on Friday as news emerged of another pipeline attack in Nigera Africa's biggest producer.Adding to the worries were claims Monday from the main militant group in Nigeria's restive south that it had launched two more attacks on oil pipelines in the region. There was no immediate confirmation. Meanwhile OPEC President and Algerian oil Minister,Chakib Khalil has said there is no need for an immediate hike in production. This has been the position of OPEC since the oil price surge began despite appeals and presures from the United States and Britain. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was also reported as saying over the weekend that crude oil prices at $115 a barrel are too low, and that oil must "discover its real value." Ahmadinejad reportedly made the statement at an oil and gas exhibition in Tehran. OPEC member nation's have certainly not deviated from OPEC'S position on the oil price surge since it started. ======================================================================================== Copyright © 2008 Leadership. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). ======================================================================================== [images//media.fastclick.net/w/ get.media?sid=7943&m=1&tp=1&d=s&c=1&f=b&v=1.4]