Nigeria's major militant group in the oil rich Niger Delta region the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said its fighter destroyed a major crude oil pipeline in southeast in Bayelsa state belonging to Royal Dutch Shell as it continues its campaign against foreign oil companies.

"At about 20:30 Hrs (2030 GMT) of Wednesday, June 17, 2009, fighters from MEND in furtherance of Hurricane Piper Alpha (our campaign to cripple the entire oil and gas export of the Federal Republic of Nigeria), destroyed with high explosives a major crude oil trunk line in Bayelsa state belonging to Shell," the group spokesman Jomo Gbomo said in a statement reaching here.

"Piper Alpha veered off course to show its displeasure at the manner the government has reacted to the extra judicial killings of two brothers by the Nigerian troops that was caught on tape. This attack is dedicated to the brothers," it added.

"Shell should take a cue from Chevron and vacate the Niger Delta region to avoid collateral damage to their investment and death to staff, we do not intend to waste time taking hostages because Hurricanes are no respecters on anyone," it said.

A spokesman with Shell in Nigeria, Tony Okonedo, told Xinhua on Thursday that they are investigating reports of an incident in their Western operations, and cannot comment just yet.

The group has launched several attacks on international oil facilities in southern Nigeria as part of its campaign to get what it calls a fairer distribution of the region's oil wealth to local people.

Early this month, it warned oil workers in the troubled oil rich Niger Delta region to leave within 72 hours to avoid an imminent attack.

Jomo Gbomo, the spokesman for the militant group, said in a statement reaching to Xinhua in Lagos that this is a final warning from the group to local and foreign workers in the oil services and exploration companies to vacate the region within the next 72 hours due to an imminent attack.

The group tagged the attack "Hurricane Piper Alpha" which they said will not discriminate on tribe, nationality, or race when it sweeps across the region.

"The warning also applies to greedy individuals from oil communities tempted to carry out repair contracts on pipelines already destroyed," the MEND said in an email statement.

Source: Xinhua