News
Shell to Repair Nigerian Oil
Line by End Jan
Royal Dutch Shell's Nigerian venture is working to complete
repairs on a damaged Nigerian oil pipeline by the end of
January, helping to boost supplies from Africa's top exporter.
Shell Petroleum Development Co. (SPDC) had to shut down the
90-kilometre (56-mile) Nembe Creek Trunkline on Dec. 24 after
leaks caused by crude theft, delaying oil output of 70,000
barrels per day (bpd).
In a statement received on Friday, Shell said an investigation
by government officials, Shell and community representatives
found thieves had installed valves at two points on the line in
Nembe, Bayelsa State. The company recovered more than 200
barrels of spilled oil.
"What is really worrying about this leak is that it happened on
a facility which was commissioned in October 2009 to replace an
old line which was repeatedly targeted by crude oil thieves,"
said Tony Attah, a Shell official, in the statement.
Oil theft, known as bunkering in Nigeria, is rampant in the
Niger Delta and often disrupts output. Thieves drill into
pipelines that pass through winding creeks and waterways in the
Niger Delta region.
The practice is thought to be worth hundreds of millions of
dollars a year.
Nigerian oil is of high quality and significant supply
disruptions can boost world prices. Nigeria is set to export
around 164,000 bpd of Bonny Light in February, 8.5 percent of
total Nigerian shipments of 1.94 million bpd.
The Nembe pipeline sends crude produced by Shell's venture and
other companies to the Bonny export terminal. As a result of the
leak, Shell declared force majeure on Bonny Light crude exports
in early January.
The force majeure remains in place, said Ross Whittam, a Shell
spokesman
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