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Port Harcourt, Nigeria: A British oil worker was killed on Wednesday when Nigerian troops tried to free seven foreigners abducted from an offshore oilfield earlier in the day, military and industry sources said.
The kidnappers with the hostages in their boats ran into a military patrol by chance, and a firefight broke out, security sources said.
An Italian and one other foreign worker were injured in the rescue attempt, while the remaining four hostages were freed unharmed by the soldiers, who killed at least two kidnappers.
"Government security forces engaged militants from this morning's hostage taking. One expat is dead and two were injured. Four were unharmed," a military source said.
The British foreign office confirmed that the dead hostage was a British national.
The Italian Foreign Ministry confirmed the Italian hostage was hospitalised with non-life threatening injuries.
It was the first time an expatriate oil worker has been killed after being taken hostage in Africa's top oil producer, security sources said.
An industry source said the attack was "community-related", referring to disputes between oil companies and nearby villages, normally over employment, infrastructure and other benefits.
Earlier on Wednesday, a spokesman for Eni, the Italian company operating the offshore oilfield, said two Finns, a Briton, an Italian, a Filipino, a Pole and a Romanian had been taken by gunmen in speed boats.
Eni closed down its 50,000 barrels-a-day Okono/Okpoho oilfield as a result of the attack, an industry source said.
The facility, located 34 miles off the coast of the Niger Delta, is a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel, a stationary tanker with crude oil and gas processing facilities built on top and a loading buoy attached.
On Monday, Eni said a two-week armed siege at its Tebidada oil pumping station in Nigeria ended peacefully and the company resumed an output of 50,000 barrels per day. The facility, located in Bayelsa state, had been occupied Nov. 6 by a group of militants and villagers who took 48 Nigerian staff members hostage, seeking compensation from the company for oil spills. Several hostages escaped and some were released.
Last week, Agip resolved a two-week siege of another oil facility in the Niger Delta in which 40 staff were held against their will. The government denied newspaper reports that the company paid large amounts of cash to the attackers.
These disputes are common in the impoverished Niger Delta, and hostages are normally released unharmed after talks involving the local government.
Dozens of mostly foreign oil workers have been abducted this year as ransom-seekers have taken advantage of instability caused by growing militancy.
Almost all have been released unharmed after payments, although in August one Nigerian oil worker was killed by troops as the militants were escorting him to freedom after a deal.
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