(Ecofin Agency) - The Niger Delta Avengers on Friday claimed responsibility for an attack on Agip’s trunk line in Bayelsa state in Nigeria.

According to the group in a tweet, the Obi Obi brass trunk line is Agip's main crude oil line in Bayelsa.“It is good as foreign refineries stop buying Nigeria oil because the Nigeria state has been robbing the Niger Delta of her oil and gas. We will inform the international communities when we are open for business,” the militant group said.

This group has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks on oil installations in the oil region.A pipeline operated by a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), in the Delta region also exploded on Thursday.The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC)’s pipeline at Sanomi Creek, around the Ogidigben area of Warri South West, exploded in the night, a source said.No person has claimed no responsibility for the explosion, Reuters reports.

On Wednesday, the Niger Delta Avengers, rejected an offer to commence negotiations with the government.Meanwhile another group, the Ultimate Warriors of Niger Delta, has requested that 60% of oil blocks in Nigeria should be given to the Niger Delta region.

The group, which spoke for the first time, has threatened to attack oil and gas facilities if the Federal Government does not fulfil their demand.This new militant group also requested that works at the $16 billion Export Processing Zone, which is also called Delta Gas City Project, must begin.

It gave the Federal Government a two-week mandate to make sure that their demands were met so as to bring about a permanent ceasefire in the region.

“We want 60% of the oil blocks to be allocated to the Niger Delta just as the Federal Government allocated 80 per cent to those who are not from the oil-producing area and just as 50% of the nation’s resources was used to develop the non-oil regions when we were producing cocoa and groundnut as main economic resources. The same 50% should be used to develop the Niger Delta region because we are the ones suffering the brunt of oil pollution and degradation,” the group said in a statement.

They added that they were behind the recent pipeline bombings in the Niger Delta region and they can assure the government that they will not stop until the Export Processing Zone project and the Maritime University are completed and start operations.

Anita Fatunji