shell contains nigerian oil spill after the pipeline attack

Shell Contains Nigerian Oil Spill After the Pipeline Attack

05-29-2008

Shell announced on Wednesday it had contained an oil spill from the pipeline which was attacked earlier this week by Nigerian Delta Militants. The company is still short to meet all supply obligations for Bonny Light Crude.

"The spill is contained," a company spokeswoman said. "There are some shut-ins but I am not specifying the volume."

There was no force majeure declared by the company due to the pipeline attack and the shut in.

Rebels in the southern region blew up Shell's oil pipeline on Monday, forcing the firm to cut production.

The Anglo-Dutch oil firm had said some oil had spilled from its Nembe Creek trunk line, which carries 130,000 barrels of crude a day to the Bonny export terminal, after the attack.

Bonny Light production has already been hit by the recent spate of sabotage attacks. In April Shell was forced to shut in about 164,000 barrels per day of Bonny Light output and declared the force majeure through to the end of May. The crude's normal output is about 400,000 bpd.

Nigerian Oil Minister Odein Ajumogobia on Monday said he expected 175,000 barrels per day of oil production lost as a result of militant attacks to be restored in the coming weeks, but added almost half a million more remained affected by the insecurity.