A MAJOR oil spill has forced Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Shell, to cut production by 50,000 barrels per day in Nembe, Bayelsa State. �We have closed down four flowstations as a result of a spill at our Nembe Creek trunk line. Some 50,000 barrels of crude have been shut in,� Mr Bisi Ojediran, spokesman forShell said.
He said the company had despatched experts to contain the spill to reduce its impact on the immediate environment. Ojediran could not immediately say if the spill had been an accident or an act of sabotage by militant gangs.
Shell is Nigeria�s biggest oil operator, accounting for around half of the country�s daily exports of 2.6 million barrels per day.
But a resurgence of attacks by militants on rigs and pipelines in the Niger Delta swamps since January has cut production by 20 per cent, with the Anglo-Dutch group shutting some oil pumping stations and supply pipelines. Shell has yet to resume operations in the shut facilities, promising to do so only when there are enough guarantees for the safety and security of staff and equipment.
The Niger Delta militants seeking local control of the region�s multi-billion-dollar oil industry, have warned of further attacks on oil facilities and personnel if they refuse to leave the region. Two weeks ago, a Nigerian court ordered Shell to pay $1.5 billion (1.26 billion euros) in compensation to the Ijaw of the region, but the company appealed the ruling.
The Ijaw of Bayelsa State had gone to court to compel Shell to pay compensation for what they called devastation of their environment following many years of oil exploration activities. Shell was the first company to strike oil at Oloibiri in present day Bayelsa State in 1956.
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