“We were forced to shut down the Otumara-Escravos flowstation in Delta State because of a siege by some women from Ugborodo community,” Shell spokesperson Precious Okolobo said.
He said the Anglo-Dutch oil group had halted production at the facility, but refused to disclose the volume of oil affected.
Okolobo said the women claimed they were protesting against government’s neglect of their community. He said Shell had informed the government about the incident.
The incident came a week after a group of Ugborodo women blocked access to a Chevron natural gas pipeline to protest poor living conditions in their community.
They said they wanted Chevron to provide access to electricity and address damage to the environment, community leader Thomas Ereyitomi told AFP last week.
Oil and gas operations in Nigeria are often disrupted by communities demanding jobs and a fairer distribution of industry revenue, as well as protests against environmental degradation.
Shell, Nigeria’s biggest operator in the oil sector, produced an average of 629 000 barrels per day last year compared to 850 000 barrels in 2008.
Source: News 24