Nigeria's rebel group the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND) has threatened to sabotage a multi-billion dollar plan to pipe Nigerian gas to Europe across the Sahara desert, a scheme that has attracted the European Union (EU) and Russian energy majors, the Nation newspaper reported Sunday.
The MEND said on Saturday that the project, which is expected to earn Nigeria millions of dollars, runs contrary to the wish of indigenous oil producing communities in the Niger-Delta region in southeast Nigeria.
The project, with capital costs estimated at 10 billion U.S. dollars for the pipeline and 3 billion dollars for gathering centers, would send up to 30 billion cubic meters a year of gas to Europe via a 4,128 km pipeline from the Niger-Delta through the Northern states to Europe, Niger and Algeria Republics.
Russian gas company Gazprom, France's Total and Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell are among international firms to have expressed interest in participating in the project.
The MEND, which has shut down more than a fifth of Nigerian oil output since launching attacks on the industry three years ago, warned that the planned project would be a target.
"Those talking to the wrong people in Abuja about investing in the Trans-Sahara gas pipe project will be investing unwisely as we are determined to sabotage the project from inception," the group said in an e-mailed statement.
The MEND frequently makes such threats. It called off a cease-fire a month ago but has since failed to carry out any significant strikes against the industry, partly because the military has stepped up a campaign to flush out its fighters.
The European Union, which currently relies on Russia for a quarter of its gas and a third of its oil, has said the Trans-Sahara project could help diversify its energy sources.
But the latest statement from the MEND undermines the notion that the pipeline could be a secure energy source for Europe.
The pipeline has been on the drawing board for years. But Nigeria's desire to improve its domestic gas infrastructure along with a desire among consumer nations to seek alternative energy supplies has renewed interest in the project.
Nigeria has estimated natural gas reserves of 180 trillion cubic feet, the seventh largest in the world. Officials of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG said the group already provides 10 percent of world supply, much of it to Europe and North America.
The MEND said on Saturday that the project, which is expected to earn Nigeria millions of dollars, runs contrary to the wish of indigenous oil producing communities in the Niger-Delta region in southeast Nigeria.
The project, with capital costs estimated at 10 billion U.S. dollars for the pipeline and 3 billion dollars for gathering centers, would send up to 30 billion cubic meters a year of gas to Europe via a 4,128 km pipeline from the Niger-Delta through the Northern states to Europe, Niger and Algeria Republics.
Russian gas company Gazprom, France's Total and Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell are among international firms to have expressed interest in participating in the project.
The MEND, which has shut down more than a fifth of Nigerian oil output since launching attacks on the industry three years ago, warned that the planned project would be a target.
"Those talking to the wrong people in Abuja about investing in the Trans-Sahara gas pipe project will be investing unwisely as we are determined to sabotage the project from inception," the group said in an e-mailed statement.
The MEND frequently makes such threats. It called off a cease-fire a month ago but has since failed to carry out any significant strikes against the industry, partly because the military has stepped up a campaign to flush out its fighters.
The European Union, which currently relies on Russia for a quarter of its gas and a third of its oil, has said the Trans-Sahara project could help diversify its energy sources.
But the latest statement from the MEND undermines the notion that the pipeline could be a secure energy source for Europe.
The pipeline has been on the drawing board for years. But Nigeria's desire to improve its domestic gas infrastructure along with a desire among consumer nations to seek alternative energy supplies has renewed interest in the project.
Nigeria has estimated natural gas reserves of 180 trillion cubic feet, the seventh largest in the world. Officials of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG said the group already provides 10 percent of world supply, much of it to Europe and North America.