Friday, November 03, 2006

Oil Workers Shanghaied In Nigeria

Two employees of Norwegian Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) have been kidnapped in Nigeria. A group of armed men kidnapped the pair late Wednesday night, the latest in long series of similar attacks that have reduced Nigerian oil production by 25 percent.PGS communications director Ola Bøsterud said the company had yet to receive communications from the kidnappers. "I can confirm that our two employees have been kidnapped from a residential vessel off Nigeria," Bøsterud told reporters. "We have not received any demands from the kidnappers yet. We are doing everything possible to resolve this situation quickly. We have mobilized out crisis team," he said.Bøsterud said the kidnapping occurred just after midnight, and involves one British and one American citizen. They were taken from the ship HD Commander, a ship hired in for a seismic investigation in the area. PGS is an oilfield service company that specializes in seismic data. Two PGS employees were kidnapped in Nigeria in June, and the situation was resolved quickly and without injury.

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