According to Punch’s report,  Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell on Monday
shut down a major pipeline in southern Nigeria after fire broke out in
its supply lines, a spokesman for the company said.

“A fire has been observed on the right of way of the Trans Niger Pipeline at Gio in Ogoni land,” said spokesman Joseph Obari.

“Shell Petroleum Development Company has shut the TNP as a precautionary measure pending the investigation,” he added.

The TNP has been repeatedly attacked by
vandals and oil thieves, and Shell said it would investigate whether the
fire was the result of an attack one of the armed groups that
operate in the region.

A resident said in Gio town….“We can’t really tell what the cause of the fire is. All we know is that we came out from the house this morning only to see that the pipeline is on fire,” he added.

The Trans Niger Pipeline transports
natural gas and 180,000 barrels of oil per day to an export terminal at
Bonny, on the south coast.

On Saturday, a group called the Niger
Delta Avengers claimed responsibility for an attack on another major oil
pipeline in southern Nigeria, breaking a ceasefire the militant group
had declared a month ago.

Nigerian oil production has sunk from
2.1 million barrels a day in the first quarter to 1.7 million barrels in
the face of repeated militant attacks.