Gunmen kidnap eight oil workers in Nigeria: sources

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen have kidnapped eight oil workers in three separate incidents in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta in the past 24 hours, security sources said on Friday.

The first attack happened late on Thursday when 11 Russians and a Ukranian were seized aboard a vessel off the island of Bonny. Some were released on Friday but five are still being held, according to a top security chief in the delta.

"We have not heard any more from the kidnappers since then," a private security contractor working in the oil industry said.

He said the vessel was working for Italian oilfield services company Saipem SpA.

The second attack happened early on Friday in the main oil industry hub of Port Harcourt, when more than a dozen men in speedboats kidnapped two oil engineers, one from the Philippines and one Nigerian, the security contractor said.

The men were on a vessel working for Damas Oil and Marine Services, an offshore oil services firm, when they were taken. No ransom had yet been demanded, the security contractor said.

A state security source, who asked not to be identified, confirmed a Filipino and a Nigerian had been kidnapped.

In the third incident, another Filipino was seized on land in Port Harcourt while going to buy roasted corn. No contact had been made with the kidnappers, security sources said.

It was not immediately clear whether the three kidnappings were carried out by the same group.

Port Harcourt is the main city in the Niger Delta, a vast network of shallow creeks flowing into the Gulf of Guinea and the hub of Nigeria's 2 million barrels per day oil industry.

Militant groups seeking a greater share of the region's natural wealth for local communities have cut Nigeria's output by a fifth since launching a campaign of sabotage against oil installations in early 2006.

Criminal gangs have taken advantage of the breakdown of law and order, funding themselves through a lucrative trade in stolen crude oil and frequently kidnapping businessmen, local politicians and expatriates for ransom.

More than 200 foreigners have been seized in the Niger Delta since early 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed.

Armed men kidnapped two Germans working for a construction firm near Port Harcourt two weeks ago.

Security sources said gunmen had also attacked an oil services vessel late on Thursday as it traveled from Port Harcourt towards the Akpo oilfield operated by France's Total. There was no immediate word on casualties.

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(Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Randy Fabi)