Exxon says Nigeria oil platform raid cuts output

LAGOS (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil said on Tuesday eight people were missing following a raid on a Nigerian offshore oil platform on November 14 that knocked out 45,000 barrels per day of condensate production.

"Mobil Producing Nigeria...confirms that unknown armed persons boarded the Oso platform on November 14. At this time, eight people remain unaccounted for," the company said in a statement.

"NGL (natural gas liquids) and condensate production of about 45,000 bpd on the facility have been shut in as a precautionary measure," Exxon added.

Oso is one of Nigeria's biggest condensate fields with about eight platforms whose total output averages about 75,000 bpd.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Nigeria's main militant group, said on Tuesday it was responsible for the attack on Exxon's oil facility.

The group warned of further attacks in the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.

"In the coming weeks, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta will launch a major operation that will simultaneously affect oil facilities across the Niger Delta," it said in a statement emailed to the media.

Previous campaigns by MEND fighters have knocked out a significant proportion of Nigeria's oil production, currently averaging about 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd), and cost it as much as $1 billion a month in lost revenues.

Exxon said on Tuesday it had contacted the families of the personnel on the platform, while government and security agencies had been informed and appropriate measures were underway.

(Reporting by Nick Tattersall; writing by Joe Brock; editing by William Hardy)