(Ecofin Agency) - Militants have attacked another pipeline in the Niger Delta region, a day after regional leaders made several demands during a meeting with the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari (photo).

Niger Delta community leaders had met with Buhari and had demanded that he withdraws from the oil region direct oil companies to transfer their headquarters there and spend more on development in order to put an end to the militancy in the region.

This marks the first time that Buhari will be meeting with leaders, ever since the beginning of attacks on oil pipelines this year.

The military said on Wednesday that troops performing a routine patrol in Delta State heard an explosion believed to have been caused by attackers at the Batan Flow Station around Ekwereabene, Energy Voice reports.

However, the spokesman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Garba Deen Muhammad later confirmed the attack. “Production is affected but I cannot tell you by what magnitude,” he said.

Meanwhile, Crude oil futures increased on Thursday from five-week lows, driven by the news of an attack on a Nigerian oil pipeline and a weaker U.S. dollar. Brent crude was trading by 1.1%, at $47.36 a barrel while U.S. crude was up by 0.9%, at $45.74 per barrel.

Anita Fatunji