Gunmen kill four at pipeline works in Nigeria's oil-rich Delta

By Tife Owolabi

YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen have killed four men who were involved in the maintenance on a pipeline owned by the Nigerian subsidiary of Italian oil giant Eni, a local security spokesman told Reuters.

The men, two workers, a driver and a security operative, died at a facility in Nembe, Bayelsa state, which feeds oil and gas to the Brass export terminal, Solomon Ogbere, a spokesman for the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, said.

"During a routine work some gunmen yesterday attacked some contract workers working on a repair work a Nembe axis of Obama flow station killing two contract workers and a driver," Ogbere said on Sunday, adding that one of his men was also killed and two others who sustained injuries are receiving treatment.

A spokesman for Agip, the local subsidiary of Eni, did not immediately comment on the attack.

The identity and motive of the attackers was not immediately clear. The Delta, which produces the bulk of Nigeria's oil but is chronically underdeveloped, has been plagued by pirates, politically motivated militants and a range of armed criminals.

Also in Nembe, a wellhead continued to spew oil and gas earlier this week, three weeks after it failed, polluting the surrounding area and angering local residents.

(Reporting by Tife Owolabi; Writing by Libby George; Editing by Alexander Smith)