Rebel attack shuts in more Shell output
News wires
Shell has shut in more Nigerian output after a fresh militant attack on a
flowstation in the Niger Delta.
Yesterday's bombing of Shell facilities in Nigeria's southern Bayelsa
state, the fifth militant attack in just over a month, came a day after a
federal court ruled that one of the leaders of the rebel Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), Henry Okah, should be tried in
secret.
The ruling prompted a threat of reprisals from Mend, which has already knocked
164,000 barrels per day off Shell's production in Nigeria with a pipeline
bombing last month.
"A few oil delivery lines are affected and some oil has spilled into the
environment," a Shell spokesman told Reuters.
"We are mobilising containment booms to stop the spread of oil and have also
shut in some production volumes."
Security sources said that three wells had been blown up in the attack, as
well as other equipment.
The Mend attacks and an eight-day strike by ExxonMobil workers which ended on
Thursday had temporarily halved oil production from Nigeria helping to push
prices to record highs on Monday around $120 a barrel.
ExxonMobil is returning production to normal levels of around 800,000 bpd, but
has not yet announced the end of a force majeure declared on Monday.
04 May 2008 09:37 GMT
| last updated:
04 May 2008 09:37 GMT
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