Shell urges Nigerian squatters to move away from pipelines

Royal Dutch/Shell Group has warned squatters living near its pipelines to leave the area, in an effort to avoid a repeat of an explosion which three years ago left hundreds dead.

In a statement, the company said residents of the Maroko slum, in the Effurun district of southern Nigeria's Delta State, have ignored a warning issued last week after a 250-barrel oil spill.

The leak was caused by sabotage, the company said.

"Today, these squatters remain in place. And so do the serious safety problems they pose," Shell said.

It added: "The surest way to avert danger here is for these squatters to move away from the pipeline route to the safety of the land allocated to them. Lives could be at risk in the event of a pipeline fire ignited by an errant spark."

Two years ago an explosion near Warri, the largest city in Delta State, claimed more than 100 lives.

In 1999 more than 300 people burned to death in Jesse, a community in the same state, following an explosion accidentally ignited by villagers stealing fuel from a vandalised pipeline.

Shell produces more than a third of Nigeria's OPEC oil quota of around 2 million barrels per day.