NO DATE was announced for the start of construction, but the first delivery of gas is scheduled in 2015.

Mend urged oil firms still operating in the restive Niger Delta to leave immediately, threatening to carry out new attacks.

Mend, which came to prominence in December 2005, has been responsible for a series of attacks on major oil companies, including Shell, Chevron and Italian group Agip.

The Niger Delta has since 2006 been rocked by violence by armed groups who say they are fighting for a greater share of the region's oil wealth for the local population.

The unrest has reduced Nigeria's exports to 1.8 million barrels per day from 2.6 million three and a half years ago. -- AFP