Lagos — Following Federal Government's amnesty programme for repentant Niger Delta militants, which had culminated in a ceasefire and significant increase in crude oil production in the region, United States oil major, Chevron, has shut down its Makaraba-Utonana pipeline in Delta State.

Chevron said the closure was sequel to the attack on its 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) facility by suspected militants at the weekend.

The country's crude production had dropped below 1.3 million barrels following years of unrest in the oil-rich region. However oil production, including condensate had increased to about 2.2 million following the October 4, 2009 implementation of the amnesty to thousands of militants who laid down their weapons.

But the latest attack, which comes five days after four Chevron workers in Delta State were killed in a shooting incident involving the military, is a pointer that the grave-yard like peace which exists in the region might be shattered as the repentant youths are said not to be happy with the slow progress in implementing the terms of the amnesty.

Sources said the absence of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, who has been in a Saudi hospital for nearly seven weeks receiving treatment for a heart problem, may further heighten tensions in the region.

The recent attack was endorsed by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the main militant group which often claimed responsibility for most attacks in the past. The group however said its fighters were not involved.

MEND claimed responsibility for the attack on a major crude oil delivery pipeline in the creeks of Abonema, Rivers State on December 19, 2009.

The group said it carried out the attack to protest the prolonged absence of ailing President Yar'Adua from the country, adding that the slow pace of implementation of the post-amnesty programme was unacceptable to them.

The group's spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, said MEND would review its ceasefire declared in October last year because of the slow progress in implementing the terms of the amnesty and announce a decision by 30 January.

Chevron, according to Reuters, confirmed that there was a breach on its Makaraba-Utonana pipeline in Delta State last Friday. The news agency also reported that militant attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria had prevented the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member from pumping much above two-thirds of its three million bpd production capacity, costing it an estimated $1 billion a month.

Makaraba-Utonana pipeline last year suffered series of attacks by MEND, which declared an "all-out war" against the military and oil installations in the region.

The Makaraba-Utunana pipeline, which Chevron operates on behalf of a joint venture with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), was breached on March 13, 2009, forcing the company to shut-in about 11,000 barrels per day of oil production.

The company's facility was also breached in May last year by the same group, which in June attacked the Chevron-operated Abiteye flow station, which feeds oil from the Escravos export terminal also in Delta State.