Shell 'evacuates' Nigeria oilfield: respons to militant threats in Nigeria

Evacuations: Shell responds to militant threats in Nigeria

Shell workers are reportedly being evacuated from the supermajor’s Bonga oilfield in the southern Niger Delta after reports of a militant threat.

Members of Nupeng - the oil labour union in Nigeria - are handling the ongoing evacuation, local reports said on Monday.

"We are aware of the development and the evacuation is being done in categories of workers and cadres," Reuters cited a union official as saying.

When contacted by Upstream, Shell said that oil output was continuing at its oilfields in Nigeria despite reports of an attack near its Bonga facilities.

The company would not confirm an evacuation at this time.

“We continue to monitor the security situation in our operating areas in the Niger Delta and are taking all possible steps to ensure the safety of staff and contractors. We do not wish to go into details. Our operations are continuing,” a Shell spokeswoman said.

Last week, a group known as the Niger Delta Avengers claimed to have attacked a Chevron platform in the Delta and forced the company to shut down production at its facility near Escravos.

The group also claimed responsibility last week for a bombing at a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation pipeline, and "warned" the Nigerian government about more attacks "if they refuse to listen".

In February, the group said it carried out an attack on a Shell oil pipeline which shut down the 250,000 barrel-per-day Forcados export terminal.