Nigeria's top building firm seen pulling out of delta

By Nick Tattersall

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's biggest construction firm, Julius Berger (JUBR.LG), is set to pull out of the oil-producing Niger Delta because of the deteriorating security situation there, a senior security source said on Saturday.

Gunmen kidnapped two Germans working for the firm, the Nigerian unit of German builder Bilfinger Berger (GBFG.DE), on Friday, blowing their armoured vehicle off the road with dynamite and killing a soldier in their convoy.

It was the latest such attack on expatriates working in the Niger Delta, the home of Africa's biggest oil industry, which has become notorious for kidnappings and attacks on oil sites since militants launched a campaign of sabotage two years ago.

"Julius Berger will withdraw from the Niger Delta due to the security environment and the brutal attacks," the security source, who works in the delta, told Reuters.

Officials from the company were not immediately available to comment.

A withdrawal by Julius Berger from the delta would be an embarrassment to the government of President Umaru Yar'Adua, who is under international pressure to end insecurity in the region.

It would also hamper development. Julius Berger is rebuilding the main east-west road across the Niger Delta and is one of Nigeria's biggest private sector employers, with more than 16,000 staff.

The bombing of oil pipelines by militants who say they are pushing for a fairer share of Nigeria's natural wealth has cut the country's oil output by around a fifth since early 2006, helping drive global crude prices to record highs.