• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

RPT-UPDATE 1-Shell says keen to re-enter western Nigeria

Wed Oct 8, 2008 4:55am EDT

Stocks

   

(Repeats to more subscribers)

(Adds background)

CAPE TOWN, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) said on Wednesday that re-entering the western part of Nigeria was a key part of its strategy in Africa, but the oil firm added that security in the restive region remained a problem.

"Our strategy includes re-entry into the west of Nigeria," Graham Smith, Shell's vice president of exploration in Africa,, said at the Africa Upstream 2008 oil conference in Cape Town.

"Security and stability continue to be a challenge there," he added.

The Anglo-Dutch firm, which was long the leading oil producer in Nigeria, has been hard hit by a wave of militant attacks in the Niger Delta region.

In July the company announced that it might not be able to meet all of its oil export obligations from Nigeria after militants from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) blew up a key pipeline.

MEND launched a campaign of violent sabotage against industry installations in the world's eighth-biggest oil exporter in early 2006, saying it was fighting for the people of the Niger Delta to gain greater control of oil resources. (Reporting by Paul Simao)



More from Reuters

Photo

U.S. probing if al Qaeda linked to airplane incident

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is investigating whether al Qaeda was involved in a Christmas Day attempt to blow up a passenger jet, but there is no early evidence the Nigerian suspect in the case was part of a larger plot, the U.S. homeland security chief said on Sunday. | Video

» More Top News
A Delta Airbus 330 airliner sits on a runway at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Michigan in this video grab made December 25, 2009. Credit: REUTERS/WDIV TV/Handout

The battle in mid-air

The attraction of bombing airliners means the aviation industry has to be constantly vigilant in its fight against attackers.  Full Article 

U.S.
A caution sign is seen next to a stock board at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in Sydney September 5, 2008. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz
Political Risk in 2010:

Don't say we didn't warn you

With the financial crisis (mostly) in the past, U.S. investors are eying a fresh start to the coming year. Here's a look at what speedbumps lie ahead.  Full Article 

Global Markets