Gunmen raid ExxonMobil oil platform off Nigeria

By Ani Akpan

CALABAR, Nigeria, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Armed men attacked an oil platform belonging to U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil (XOM.N) off Nigeria early on Wednesday, the latest sign that criminal gangs are extending their reach in Africa's top oil industry.

Gunmen in a flat-bottomed vessel raided the facility, which lies some two hours by boat off the coast of the southern Nigerian state of Akwa Ibom, shortly after midnight. They also attacked a nearby barge and an oil services vessel.

"They shot into the air and water and ordered everyone on the platform into one room and threatened to kill us," a witness told Reuters, adding the raid had lasted two hours.

A private security contractor said the gunmen had stolen phones, valuables and money. They were initially thought to have taken three hostages, but all the occupants of the three locations had since been accounted for, the contractor said.

He said there was no impact on production.

Mobil officials confirmed the incident but gave no details.

Insecurity in Nigeria's Niger Delta has focused on the three main oil-producing states of Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa, but kidnappings and robberies appear to be on the increase in Akwa Ibom, further east towards Cameroon.

It is the second time in just over a month that Exxon's local unit Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) has been targeted.