OREANDA-NEWS. A Chevron-operated facility offshore Nigeria has been shut in after being "breached". A rebel group in the Niger delta has claimed it attacked the Okan gas/condensate platform, which is a joint venture between the US firm and state-owned NNPC.

"The facility is currently shut-in and we are assessing the situation, and have deployed resources to respond to a resulting spill," Chevron said. Okan is a component of the company's Escravos gas operations.

The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) said it had "blown up the Chevron valve platform" on 4 May. The NDA claimed responsibility for a previous attack on the Shell-operated Forcados oil pipeline in February. That resulted in force majeure on Forcados crude exports.

"We want to pass this message to the all international oil companies operating in the Niger delta that the Nigeria military can't protect you[r] facilities," the group said today. "They should talk to the federal government to meet our demands else more mishaps will befall their installations."

Rebel attacks against oil and gas facilities had stopped since a presidential amnesty to former rebels in 2009.

Chevron produces around 240,000 b/d in Nigeria. It is a joint venture upstream partner with state-owned NNPC and operates offshore fields under production sharing contracts.