12 October 2011
LAGOS Oil giant Shell said Tuesday it hopes to resume normal production levels in Nigeria by early November a day after announcing that it may not meet contractual obligations on certain oil exports due to a pipeline attack.
Following the attack on the 50-kilometre (30 miles) Trans Forcados pipeline, the Shell Nigeria joint venture declared ‘force majeure’, freeing it of contractual obligations on certain exports from Nigeria through December.
But Shell said in a statement that repair on the pipeline had begun and that production may resume earlier than previously thought.
“If all goes according to plan, we expect to complete the repair as soon as possible and reopen the line,” Shell vice president in Nigeria Tony Attah said in the statement.
“It means the force majeure we declared on Forcados offtake programme will be lifted late October/early November as soon as Forcados production has returned to normal levels,” the statement said.
The pipeline leak, reported on October 6, was caused by an explosion, Shell said.
Pipeline damage and associated spills are common in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta region as a result of oil theft that feeds the lucrative black market.
Militants claiming to be fighting for a fairer distribution of oil revenue have also regularly destroyed pipelines, though such attacks have decreased since a 2009 amnesty deal.
COMMENT BY JOHN DONOVAN – SHELL IN NIGERIA:
Shell’s horrendous track record in Nigeria includes embedding spies in the Nigerian government; paying rival militant gangs; engaging in corruption (not only in Nigeria); arming police spies; undercover activity using a private spy firm (Hakluyt) and associating Shell with murder and human rights abuses. Consequently questions inevitably arise about the background of the militants responsible for the attacks referred to in this article. Has Shell any financial connection with them currently, or in the past? Shell has such a shameful record in Nigeria, including plunder and pollution on an epic scale, that it has even considered ditching the Shell global brand name. Such a radical move would also distance the company from its Nazi past.
This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
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