Nigeria loses another 120,000 barrels per day

Nigerian militants blew up a key oil supply pipeline operated by Chevron, in the latest attack targeting the country's multi-billion-dollar oil industry, company and military sources said Saturday.

The US oil giant was forced to shut down operations as a result of the attack Friday in the volatile Niger Delta, halting output by 120,000 barrels per day, an industry source said.

The latest attack came a day after Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell said it could not promise to deliver 225,000 barrels per day for June and July following an unprecedented raid on its offshore Bonga oilfield.

Unrest in the Niger Delta has reduced Nigeria's total oil production by a quarter in the past two years, and the losses have contributed significantly to the recent surge in world oil price