Rebels from Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta said on Monday they had attacked a Royal Dutch Shell pipeline and killed 11 soldiers, but the army denied there had been any attack. The rebel Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said in a statement that it had sabotaged the Shell pipeline at Awoba flow station.
Oil rose to a record high above on Tuesday, boosted by a jump in oil demand last month from China, the world’s second biggest energy consumer, and worries about supply from key producers Russia and Nigeria. United States light crude for May delivery was up 26 cents at ,74 a barrel by 10.05am GMT, after an all-time peak of .05.