Sudan rebels warn oil workers: leave or be targets

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Darfur rebels holding five oil workers hostage warned all companies working in Sudan's budding crude industry to leave the region, or become military targets of the insurgents.

Mahamat Bahar Ali Hamadein, a senior commander for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) named the five oil workers, four of which work for the world's largest oil services company Schlumberger and one for part-owned Malaysian Petroneed.

"We already gave all the companies working in the oilfields one week to leave," said Hamadein. "If they do not leave they will all become targets for us just as the Sudanese military is because they are supporting our enemy."

The attack was last Tuesday on the Defra oilfield in Block 4. Blocks 1, 2 and 4 are a Chinese-led concession called the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC), which also includes Indian's ONGC and Malaysian Petronas.

It is in South Kordofan, an area bordering Darfur, where rebels have extended their attacks in the past year.

He named one Iraqi engineer Ahmed Hayman Mohamed, an Egyptian engineer Joseph William Samuel, and two Sudanese working for Schlumberger as well as one other Sudanese technician, Khaled Dirar Ahmed, working for Petroneed.

Sudan's oil industry is highly sensitive and opaque and the oil ministry has previously denied the attack.

Schlumberger on Monday confirmed the attack but declined to comment further.

"Securing the safe return of our employees abducted in Sudan is our top priority and we are working with all relevant parties to resolve the situation as quickly as possible," the company, listed in the United States, said in a statement.

Rebels said they had not been contacted by anyone from the company or the government about the hostages.

China urged Sudan to protect its oil workers following the attack.

GNPOC produces more than 265,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Sudan's sweet Nile Blend. Sudan's total output is at least 500,000 bpd.