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Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe's largest oil company, put out a fire at an oil well caused by thieves in the Ogoni, Niger Delta.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe's largest oil company, put out a fire at an oil well caused by thieves in the Ogoni, Niger Delta.
The fire was put out last Thursday, company spokesman Precious Okolobo said in an e-mail.
The fire in the dormant Bomu oilfield was discovered on December 29, caused by unknown persons who tried to steal crude, Shell said. Bomu is among oilfields abandoned by Shell in Ogoni in the Niger Delta in 1993 because of local opposition.
Shell's Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company, or SPDC, runs a joint venture in which state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. owns the majority. Eni SpA and Total SA are also part of the venture.
"There have been frequent fires and spills incidents from attempts to steal crude oil from SPDC's dormant oil and gas facilities in the area," Okolobo said. There were four spill incidents and six fires in the Ogoni area caused by oil thieves last year, he said.