THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell Nigeria To Restart 114,000 B/D Oil Flow: “Royal Dutch/Shell Group Tuesday said it will restart three oil flow stations in the Niger Delta after talks with local villagers ended a standoff that forced the company to delay oil deliveries” (ShellNews.net) Posted 5 Jan 05

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

 LONDON -- Royal Dutch/Shell Group (RD SC) Tuesday said it will restart three oil flow stations in the Niger Delta after talks with local villagers ended a standoff that forced the company to delay oil deliveries.

Hundreds of men, woman and children of the Kula tribe occupied the Ekulama 1 and 2 and Belema oil platforms in Nigeria's oil-rich swamps, forcing Shell to declare force majeure on 114,000 barrels a day in December because it couldn't meet contracted delivery times for the oil.

A spokesman for ChevronTexaco Corp. (CVX) in London also said it had resumed production from the 20,000-barrel-a-day Robertkiri field, which was affected by the action about a week ago.

The villagers left the platforms after Shell promised not to restart production while talks on the locals' grievances continued with the government.

A spokeswoman for Shell in London said the company couldn't confirm when the force majeure would be lifted.

Bringing full production back could take several days.

The platforms were occupied Dec. 5, leading to the shutting in of a total of 134,000 b/d of output.

Nigeria is the world's seventh-biggest oil exporter and fifth-biggest exporter to the U.S., pumping about 2.3 million b/d.

Oil development is a regular flashpoint for unrest among poor communities in the Niger Delta swamps who feel the government and companies aren't fairly sharing oil revenue.

A Shell spokesman in Nigeria told Dow Jones Newswires that the Kula community had agreed to the reopening of the flow stations while it prepares proposals on its demands to the oil company.

"After we receive their list, we will study it and later harmonize our positions with theirs so both sides can come to an agreement," the spokesman said. The two sides are then expected to sign a memorandum of understanding, he said.

The spokesman said the decision by the community followed meetings with its leaders and officials of the Rivers State government, as well as representatives from Shell .
 

-By Shai Oster, Dow Jones Newswires; +44-20-7842-9357; shai.oster@dowjones.com

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