The the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) announced on May 26 that it had bombed another Royal Dutch Shell oil pipeline in the Nigerian state of Rivers. The government confirmed the destruction of a flow station, and global oil prices jumped again in response.

Since 2006, MEND has been waging a war against Nigerian oil infrastructure, launching frequent attacks that have reduced oil production by one-fifth. Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil exporter and the eighth largest in the world. Attacks in the last few months have reduced oil exports by 175,000 barrels per day and exacerbated high oil prices around the world.