The Gulf Of Guinea Heating Up

I read this and thought, remember when we thought piracy was a minor problem in the Horn of Africa?

Nigeria's main militant group on Monday threatened to extend its attacks to offshore oil facilities after sabotaging a Chevron-operated oil pumping station in the Niger Delta.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it attacked the Abiteye flow station early on Monday, the fifth militant attack claimed against the U.S. energy company in Delta state in less than a month.

The military confirmed the attack, but said its security forces were able to secure the facility and force the retreat of dozens of suspected militants.
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The U.S. oil major has already shut down its operations around Delta state after MEND's first pipeline attack on May 24, halting about 100,000 barrels per day of oil output in Africa's biggest oil and gas producer.
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MEND, responsible for attacks that have cut one fifth of Nigeria's oil production in the last three years, threatened to begin sabotaging oil facilities outside Delta state, including offshore oil fields.

The Gulf of Guinea suffers from being a problem out of sight and mind, but history has taught us these problems can metastasize quickly.