Nigeria Militant Say Will Sabotage Sahara Gas Pipe

But the latest statement from MEND undermines the notion that the pipeline could be a secure energy source for Europe.

Nigeria's main militant group on Saturday threatened to sabotage a multi-billion dollar plan to pipe Nigerian gas to Europe across the Sahara desert, a scheme that has attracted EU and Russian energy majors.

The project, with capital costs estimated at $10 billion for the pipeline and $3 billion for gathering centres, would send up to 30 billion cubic metres a year of gas to Europe via a 4,128 km (2,580 mile) pipeline from Nigeria via Niger and Algeria.

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom <GAZP.MM>, France's Total <TOTF.PA> and Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> are among the international firms to have expressed interest in participating in the project.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which has shut down more than a fifth of Nigerian oil output since launching attacks on the industry three years ago, warned that the planned project would be a target.

"Those talking to the wrong people in Abuja about investing in the Trans-Sahara gas pipe project will be investing unwisely as we are determined to sabotage the project from inception," the group said in an e-mailed statement.

MEND frequently makes such threats. It called off a ceasefire a month ago but has since failed to carry out any significant strikes against the industry, partly because the military has stepped up a campaign to flush out its fighters.

The European Union, which currently relies on Russia for a quarter its gas and a third of its oil, has said the Trans-Sahara project could help diversify its energy sources.

But the latest statement from MEND undermines the notion that the pipeline could be a secure energy source for Europe.

Beyond the threat of militant attacks in Nigeria, it would also pass through northern Niger, parts of which are controlled by nomadic Tuareg rebels, and southern Algeria, where Islamic militant groups have long had a presence.

The pipeline has been on the drawing board for years. But Nigeria's desire to improve its domestic gas infrastructure along with a desire among consumer nations to seek alternative energy supplies has renewed interest in the project.

Nigeria has estimated natural gas reserves of 180 trillion cubic feet, the seventh largest in the world. Its liquefied natural gas company Nigeria LNG says it already provides 10 percent of world supply, much of it to Europe and North America.