Nigerian Oilfield Closed After Attack

The raid took place overnight on the Bonga oil platform about 120km (75 miles) off the coast of the Niger Delta, the company said.

It is the first attack on the oilfield, which normally produces about 200,000 barrels a day.

Attacks in the inshore Niger Delta have helped drive up the world oil prices.

Nigeria's valuable offshore oilfields had always been considered difficult for most militants to attack, the BBC's Alex Last reports from Lagos.

But for the first time in the early hours, gunmen in boats reached the Bonga installation, Shell's flagship project.

A Nigerian navy spokesman confirmed reports that militants had kidnapped a US captain from a separate vessel on their way back from the attack.

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[q url="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7463288.stm"]Militants from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) claimed the attack, the Associated Press news agency reported.