UPDATE 2-Shell shuts flowstations after fire in south Nigeria
(Adds comment on production)
By Nick Tattersall
LAGOS, April 12 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Sunday it had shut down flowstations feeding into its Trans-Niger oil pipeline in southern Nigeria as a precautionary measure after a fire at a manifold.
The Anglo-Dutch giant said it had shut down some production while firefighters tried to extinguish the blaze at the Bomu manifold in Ogoniland, in the restive Niger Delta region.
"We have shut down all flowstations that feed into the pipeline. It is a long stretch of pipeline that conveys production from (Shell's Nigerian joint venture) SPDC and third parties," Shell spokesman Precious Okolobo said.
"We have shut in some production as our firefighters do all they can to extinguish the fire," he said.
The cause of the blaze was not known.
The Trans-Niger pipeline crosses Ogoniland, a region where Shell closed its production operations in 1993 due largely to popular protests over pollution and lack of development.
President Umaru Yar'Adua announced last year that the government would give the oilfields to another company after Shell abandoned them. Continued...
One Year Later
A year after militants laid siege to Mumbai, the country still remains very vulnerable. Full Article | Full Coverage
Liberhan Commission Report
The government published a long awaited report, recently leaked, accusing BJP leaders of a role in the 1992 destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Full Article
