Police: Blast at Shell's Nigeria Oil Pipeline Kills 12
(Reuters) — An explosion on a Nigerian oil pipeline owned by Shell killed at least 12 people on Friday, authorities at the scene said, while members of the affected community in Emohua said they feared many more had died in the blast.
A spokesperson for Shell Petroleum Development (SPD) company of Nigeria Limited said a fire occurred on its Rumuekpe-Nkpoku Trunk Line in Rivers State and that it was working with authorities to put it out.
Garuba Yabuku, civil defence spokesman for Emohua, in Rivers State, the heart of Africa's biggest oil industry, said the incident was reported around 4:30 a.m. (0330 GMT).
"The pipeline was gutted by fire," he said at the scene, where the fire was still blazing from the pipeline next to five burned out vehicles flanked by a palm forest.
"Many people got burnt inside the fire, males and females," community leader Ogbonna Francis, a farmer, told Reuters at the scene.
SPD said an investigation by a government-led joint team would commence to find the cause of the incident.
Oil theft and pipeline sabotage are common in the southern oil production heartland of Nigeria. The methods used to steal oil often result in accidents that cause fires.
In April last year, a similar disaster killed 100 people.
Related News
Related News

- PG&E Reduces Emissions from Gas Pipelines by More Than 20%
- Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project to Nearly Triple Current Capacity to 890,000 bpd
- Spain's Tecnicas Reunidas, FCC to Build LNG Terminal Worth $1.1 Billion in Germany
- Canada Offers $26 Billion Green Tax Credits But Still Trails Behind US Incentives
- Pipeline Operator TC Energy Says Keystone Oil Spill Caused by Fatigue Crack
- Pipeline Operator TC Energy Says Keystone Oil Spill Caused by Fatigue Crack
- Permian In Spotlight as Energy Dealmaking Gathers Steam
- Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project to Nearly Triple Current Capacity to 890,000 bpd
- Colombia's Cano Limon-Covenas Pipeline Attacked for Ninth Time in 2023
- Chad Nationalizes Exxon’s 621-Mile Pipeline as Dispute Over Asset Sale Escalates
Comments