Pipelines

Thieves ruptured a pipeline that crosses the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, spilling at least 79,000 gallons of diesel fuel Thursday and forcing the evacuation of at least 350 people. The diesel spilled across at least 1,000 square feet in Rio Blanco, 80 miles west of Veracruz city, said state civil protection director Ranulfo Marquez Hernandez. He said no one was injured.

Russia's invasion of neighboring Georgia has raised doubts about the security of oil and gas pipelines that cross through the former Soviet republic and the wisdom of further investment in the transport lines. The foray also put an emphatic stamp on Russia's growing influence over the region's natural resources and, by proxy, over Europe.

Ventura County residents are being urged to conserve water through Thursday as local agencies scramble to replace supplies disrupted by a pipeline maintenance project. "I cannot overemphasize the importance for people to step up and conserve water, particularly in the next four to five days. We don't want to run our system dry," said Eric Bergh, manager of resources at Calleguas Municipal Water District in Thousand Oaks.

One California regulatory agency advocates approval of an $800-million liquefied natural gas terminal off the Ventura County coast, and another says that the project would be harmful to the coastal environment. The staffs of the California State Lands Commission and the California Coastal Commission have reached vastly different conclusions based on the environmental impact report of the BHP Billiton project.

More than 1 million residents in western San Bernardino and eastern Los Angeles counties are asked to limit water use starting Monday while crews repair a damaged pipeline. The Rialto feeder pipeline, which delivers Northern California water to much of the area, will be closed Monday until April 24. Residents in Chino, Chino Hills, Claremont, Fontana, La Verne, Montclair, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland are asked to stretch water supplies while repairs are made.

An explosion hit a gas pipeline that crosses from Russia to supply Europe, destroying a 100-foot section but causing no injuries, Ukrainian officials said. The blast hit the line south of Kiev, Ukraine's capital, said an Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman. The state-owned transit company, Ukrtransgaz, said European consumers would not be affected because gas would be pumped through other pipelines or taken from storage.

Militants staged coordinated attacks on three pipelines, inflicting the worst damage on Nigeria's vital oil infrastructure in more than a year. Hours later, gunmen stormed a vessel carrying workers in the southern Niger Delta and abducted four foreigners, two private industry officials said. Security sources later said they were Americans, but there were no immediate details. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta claimed responsibility for the bombings.

Russia announced a deal that will dramatically increase the amount of natural gas it moves from Central Asia to Europe, a key victory in a growing rivalry with the West for the region's vast energy resources. Russian President Vladimir V. Putin and the leaders of the region's main energy producers, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, agreed to build a pipeline running from Turkmenistan through Kazakhstan and into Russia's network of pipelines to Europe.

A leftist guerrilla group claimed responsibility Tuesday for a series of bombings of pipelines operated by Pemex, Mexico's national oil company, and authorities moved quickly to protect the nation's oil and gas industry from further attacks. The Popular Revolutionary Army, or EPR, said in a communique that it would continue its bombing campaign until the government disclosed the whereabouts of two EPR members said to have disappeared last year in the southern state of Oaxaca.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has dispatched a new 5,000-strong elite military unit to guard strategic sites, including oil refineries and hydroelectric dams, in the wake of guerrilla attacks on pipelines operated by the national oil and gas company, Pemex, according to news reports Thursday.