The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria on Wednesday shut down a pipeline in southern Bayelsa Nembe Creek Trunk line (NCTL) to remove crude oil theft connections and investigate suspected oil theft leaks.

Production of some 150,000 barrels of oil per day has been deferred due to the shutdown, the company said in a statement.

According to the statement, the SPDC has declared force majeure on Bonny Light export as a result.

"We are concerned that the NCTL has been targeted by crude oil thieves repeatedly since we installed the new line in 2010 at a cost of 1.1 billion U.S. dollars," the statement quoted Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu as saying.

"The current exercise aims to remove a significant number of oil theft connections and repair any leaks on the pipeline. We recognize efforts by the security forces to contain the crime, and SPDC will work with them during the shutdown to clear illegal connections on the NCTL," he added.

The oil company recently expressed concerns over the increasing cases of organized theft of crude oil in the Niger Delta region of the country.

Shell has previously suggested that about 150,000 bpd of oil is lost to oil thieves and pipeline vandals. Endi

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