Getting to work: at Nembe
Shell works on Nembe fix
Shell has started work repairing the Nembe pipeline, which ruptured on 3 March, forcing the supermajor to shut in 187,000 barrels of oil per day.
Work on the pipeline that feeds the Bonny export terminal was delayed by youths from a local community who seized Shell's equipment and denied workers access to the spill in the Nembe Creek area.
"The community has agreed for us to work ... Repair work on the trunk line has begun," a spokesman told Reuters.
A team of investigators was on its way to the Nembe Creek area in Bayelsa state to determine the cause and extent of the spill. It was not clear how long the investigation and repairs would take.
Militant attacks on oil facilities in neighbouring Delta state had already forced Nigeria to reduce output by 600,000 bpd for over a year, before the Nembe Creek incident.