Shell pipeline explodes in southern Nigeria

LAGOS (AFP)

The pipeline collects crude from various production plants scattered around the region.

“As a precaution, we have stopped production at these facilities,” he said without elaborating.

…On Monday Nigeria’s oil workers gave notice of a three-day strike later this month, complaining that authorities have failed to prevent a wave of kidnappings in the restive Niger Delta.

The powerful white-collar Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the blue-collar National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) said despite government pledges, the security situation in the southern oil hub has not improved.

The surge in violent attacks on Nigeria’s oil industry has meant a drop in crude production in the world’s eighth largest producer to some two million barrels a day, compared with 2.6 million in 2006.

AFP