Oil export pipeline explodes � Shell cuts production
Ibanga Isine with agency report
Nigeria�s oil industry on Sunday suffered a setback as its major crude oil export pipeline linking Bonny Export Terminal caught fire.
The incident led to a fresh oil spill in Ogoniland.
Shell Petroleum Development Company, which manages the terminal, has cut production by about 20,000 barrels per day.
Reports by Agence France Presse on Tuesday claimed that the fire followed leakages from the Trans-Nigeria Pipeline of the SPDC.
Witness account had it that the pipeline burst on Sunday, while the leaking crude cut fire on Monday. Shell, which suspected sabotage, battled to control both the fire and the leak on Monday.
However, the host community is worried over the company�s ability to control the leak.
The President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, Mr. Ledum Mitee, alleged that, �up till now (Tuesday) containment measures had not been taken.�
He said that oil leaking from the pipeline had already travelled into a tidal creek and was threatening a large stretch of farmland.
�The leak is barely an hour�s drive from Port Harcourt,� he added.
Mitee, however, denied that youths prevented Shell from gaining access to the site.
The Anglo-Dutch oil giant, has, however, given the assurance that the disruption of its production schedule would only last for a few days.
Shell spokesman, Mr. Precious Omoku, in statement said, that while repairs were underway, the oil would be diverted to a narrower pipeline and production would be cut back.
�The incidents have not affected SPDC�s production,� since the amount was only a fraction of Nigeria�s daily exports of 2.5 million barrels.
�While the repairs lasted, crude oil would be diverted from the-70-centimetre (28 inch) pipeline to a narrower conduit.� The statement added that, �The switch of pipelines will involve a production cut back of about 20,000 barrels per day, but it will be for a few days because the line will be fixed soon.�
Shell insisted that its response team arrived the scene of the incident on Monday, and was �denied access by the community youths.�
It added that, �while access was being negotiated, some unknown persons set the leak point on fire.�
�The team also observed that the leak and fire had spread to a nearby fishpond. Efforts are being made to put out the fire and clamp the leak. The volume of oil leak is not yet known and there was no fatality or injury in the incident,� the company said.
The people of Ogoni land, where Shell is engaged in its major exploration, have since 1993 been in a disagreement with the oil company over the environmental issues.
Meanwhile, a joint investigation team from Shell, government representatives and regulatory authorities are to determine the cause of the incident.
