PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped an employee of the French oil company Total in Nigeria's Niger Delta on Wednesday, police said.

The Nigerian worker was abducted after leaving his home in Port Harcourt, the main city in the OPEC member's restive oil-producing Niger Delta.

"A Nigerian employee of Total was abducted by unidentified gunmen this morning on his way to work and driven in a getaway car, said Rita Inoma-Abbey, spokeswoman for Rivers state police.

Kidnappings for ransom, armed robbery and carjackings are common in the Niger Delta, where poverty is widespread despite its vast oil and gas reserves. Most victims are released unharmed after payment of a ransom.