Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday that the recent violence on oil facilities and abduction of four oilmen in the country's Niger Delta did not amount to having a crisis in its oil industry.

 

According to the official News Agency of Nigeria, Obasanjo said his government was already taking effective steps to contain the situation in the delta region, where the majority of Nigeria's oil is produced.

 

"I do not believe that our oil industry is under threat. This is an aberration. It will come and go. There is an element of terrorism in this and you cannot say we should give in to terrorism," Obasanjo was quoted as saying.

 

He said his administration was fully aware of the global importance of the hydrocarbon resources of the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea and would do everything possible to guarantee their security.

 

The president said although his government was in contact with the militant group claiming responsibility for recent criminal acts in the Niger Delta, it had not offered them any "deal."

 

On January 11, four foreigners working for Royal Dutch Shell were taken hostage by an armed group in the Niger Delta region. Local officials had expressed optimism that the four could be released this week.

 

Nigeria is the biggest oil producer in Africa with a daily output of 2.5 million barrels, while Shell accounts for half of the country's oil production, but the situation in the country's oil regions in the south is turbulent.

 

In the oil-rich Niger Delta, local people accuse oil majors of caring about only extracting oil and doing little to help them develop the area. As a result, they frequently attack oil facilities and commit other forms of violence to blackmail the oil companies operating in the area.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2006)