Shell shuts Nigeria pipeline carrying Bonny Light crude

 

Nigeria’s oil exports were disrupted after Shell’s local unit shut a pipeline that carries a key grade after it discovered a leak on Saturday, the company said on Monday.

The pipeline carries one of Nigeria’s main export grades, Bonny Light . About six cargoes of the crude are exported each month, or around 180,000-200,000 barrels per day.

A Shell spokeswoman in London said that force majeure had not been declared on the grade.

The 24-inch pipeline has been shut since Oct. 18 last year for repair and integrity checks, the spokesman added.

Nigeria’s oil industry suffers from rampant oil theft. A report by a national conference convened by President Goodluck Jonathan in March, said the country was losing an estimated $35 million (22 million pounds) a day to oil theft.