Incident Report

Subject:                     Nigerian pipeline fire causes Shell production cut

Date of Email report:   Fri 11/11/2011

Report Detail:

YENAGOA, Nigeria — A pipeline fire in southern Nigeria has caused a cut in Shell's production in the country, the oil company said on Wednesday, with a spill also reported in connection with the incident. The fire caused panic among residents after breaking out at several locations along the Okordia-Rumuekpe line at Ikarama in Bayelsa state, part of the Niger Delta, the country's main oil-producing region, according to one resident." Some production has been shut in," Shell's Nigerian joint venture said in a statement. "A joint investigation visit planned for tomorrow (Thursday) will determine the cause and impact of the fire." Shell said it had "received reports of a spill on the line yesterday and were mobilising for the investigation of the cause when news of the fire came in today. We will now work to put out the fire before investigation and repairs."

The Anglo-Dutch firm did not provide details on how badly production was affected. Washington Oderibo, a 27-year-old resident, told AFP that "we saw the flames early this morning and it was very close to the community and we took it as a threat.  "We evacuated some people close to the fire," he said. Shell sent several teams of fire-fighters and the blaze was brought under control by Wednesday afternoon, according to Oderibo.  Such incidents occur regularly and are often caused by oil thieves seeking to steal crude for sale on the lucrative black market. Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer. Shell has historically been the country's largest producer

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