ABUJA (Reuters) - Militants vowed on Wednesday to extend their campaign of sabotage and kidnapping to all oil companies in Nigeria, including Chevron, and said they had already attacked platforms operated by two other companies.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said in statement they have attacked installations run by France's Total and Italy's Agip, a unit of ENI, but spokesmen for the two companies denied it.
So far, Royal Dutch Shell is the only major operator in the world's eighth largest oil exporter to have said it suffered attacks by the group, which is also holding four foreign oil workers hostage.
Oil prices climbed to their highest level in almost four months on Wednesday after militants threatened to cripple supplies from the leading OPEC oil exporter.
``The reports of attacks on Agip and Total flow stations are correct,'' the group said in response to a query about attacks on those companies.
``We have decided not to limit our attacks to Shell oil as our ultimate aim is to prevent Nigeria from exporting oil,'' the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said in an email statement to Reuters.
``We will attack all oil companies including Chevron facilities.''
Spokesmen for the French and Italian companies in Nigeria dismissed the claims.
Agip spokesman Akin Aruwajoye said: ``We have not been attacked.''
Total spokesman Fred Ohwahwa said: ``We don't have any problem, nothing has happened to any of our facilities.''
SHELL SHUT CAPACITY
Shell, the largest producer of oil in Nigeria's delta, has shut 226,000 barrels per day, roughly 10 percent of the West African country's output.
``Pipelines, loading points, export tankers, tank farms, refined petroleum depots, landing strips and residences of employees of these companies can expect to be attacked. We know where they live, shop and where the children go to school,'' the group said.
Nigerian newspaper Thisday reported on Wednesday that U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil had issued a security alert to its staff in Nigeria and asked some employees not to come to work until further notice following the threats.
The paper said that Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited placed all its staff on high alert and asked all non-essential employees to stay away from its oil export terminal which produces some 600,000 barrels a day.
An ExxonMobil spokesman declined to comment on the specifics of its precautions.
``We took some security measures but I am not prepared to discuss what they were,'' he said.
On Tuesday, the company denied a report by a shipping agent that loadings at its two major oil export terminals were suspended because of a threat of attack. The terminals export 550,000 barrels a day, 23 percent of Nigerian oil.