BEIJING, Feb 4, SPA -- China's Foreign Ministry announced Sunday that nine Chinese oil workers kidnapped last month in Nigeria were released unharmed by their captors. The workers were taken Jan. 25 when gunmen stormed the government-owned Chinese National Petroleum Co. office in the Nigerian state of Bayelsa. The Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement on its Web site that the workers were released early Sunday morning (Beijing time) and were expected to return to China soon, the Associated Press reported.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/422879