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By Felix Onuah and Anamesere Igboeroteonwu
ABUJA/ONITSHA, Nigeria, May 20 (Reuters) - Nigeria'sPresident Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said he ordered aheightened military presence in the restive Niger Delta regionto deal with a resurgence of attacks on oil and gas facilities,a day after yet another pipeline explosion.
British Foreign Minster Philip Hammond warned on Saturdaymilitary action would not end a wave of attacks in the southernswamps because it did not address rising anger among residentsover poverty despite sitting on much of Nigeria's oil wealth.
The rise in attacks in the Delta in the last few weeks hasdriven Nigerian oil output to a more than 20-year low, worseninga drain on public finances.
A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers has claimedresponsibility for several sophisticated attacks.
Speaking at a meeting with Shell's upstream head,Andrew Brown, Buhari said he had instructed the chief of navalstaff to reorganise and strengthen the military Joint Task Forceto deal with the militancy.
"We have to be very serious with the situation in the NigerDelta because it threatens the national economy," Buhari said ina statement.
"I assure you that everything possible will be done toprotect personnel and oil assets in the region," he added.
Nigeria had several times announced army reinforcements tothe Delta but diplomats said the military has achieved little asmilitants were operating in small groups and hiding in thehard-to-access swamps.
"Mr. Brown had appealed for an urgent solution to risingcrime and militancy in the Niger Delta," the presidency said.
An industry source told Reuters that major oil firms warnedVice President Yemi Osinbajo this month that a militarycrackdown was actually fuelling dissent in the Delta.
The presidency statement also quoted Brown as saying Shellwould not pull out of Nigeria despite the violence and that itwas in talks with state energy firm NNPC for new oil and gasprojects.
Their was no immediate comment from Shell, but its countrychair said in an interview published on Sunday the firm wascommitted to long-term investment in the West African nation.
Buhari's comments came after locals said a gas pipelineoperated by NNPC was attacked late on Thursday.
The pipeline, which connects the Escravos oil terminal toWarri, supplies gas to different parts of the country.
Eric Omare, a spokesman for the Ijaw Youth Council, a youthumbrella, said the attack occurred near the village of OgbeIjoh, near Warri, "on the pipeline belonging to NNPC.
Resident James Dadiowei said he heard a "loud bang" at thepipeline, but an NNPC spokesman was unable to confirm theattack.
On Thursday, intruders blocked access to Exxon Mobil's terminal exporting Qua Iboe, Nigeria's largest crudestream. And, earlier this month, Shell workers atNigeria's Bonga facilities were evacuated.
In February, the Avengers claimed an attack on an underseapipeline, forcing Shell to shut a 250,000 barrel-a-day Forcadosterminal.
The group also claimed responsibility for blasting a Chevron platform in early May, shutting the Warri and Kadunarefineries. Power outages across Nigeria worsened as gassupplies were also affected.
The army said on Sunday it had arrested several suspectedmembers of the Avengers, but locals said they had been freed.
"They were released on Wednesday evening," Omare said.
Residents said the military had described them as Avengersbut locals had protested they were Chevron pipeline inspectors who had shown the soldiers arresting them their identity cards.
Militant attacks have spiked since authorities issued inJanuary an arrest warrant for a prominent former militant leader who with other rebels in 2009 agreed to stop blowing uppipelines in exchange for cash, a plan Buhari has trimmed as part of an anti-graft drive. (Additional reporting by Tife Owolabi, in Yenagoa; writing byAlexis Akwagyiram and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Alistair Bell andCynthia Osterman)
