Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) said it had finished repairs to Nembe creek oil pipeline and restored output. SPDC had shut down the 90-kilometre (56-mile) Nembe Creek Trunkline on December 24 after leaks caused by crude theft, delaying oil output

of 70,000 barrels per day (bpd).

“Repair of the Nembe Creek Trunkline has been completed and production restored,” Shell said in a statement at the weekend. Earlier on, the company had promised to finish the work before the end of January.

Shell said an investigation by government officials, Shell and community representatives found that thieves had installed valves at two points on the line in Nembe, Bayelsa State. The company recovered more than 200 barrels of spilled oil.

“What is really worrying about this leak is that it happened on a facility which was commissioned in October 2009 to replace an old line which was repeatedly targeted by crude oil thieves,” said Tony Attah, a Shell official, in the earlier statement.

Oil bunkering is rampant in the Niger Delta and often disrupts output. Thieves drill into pipelines that pass through winding creeks and waterways in the Niger Delta region. The practice is thought to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Nigerian oil is of high quality and significant supply disruptions can boost world prices. Nigeria is set to export around 164,000 bpd of Bonny Light in February, 8.5 per cent of total Nigerian shipments of 1.94 million bpd.

The Nembe pipeline sends crude produced by Shell’s venture and other companies to the Bonny export terminal. As a result of the leak, Shell declared force majeure on Bonny Light crude exports in early January.