Protesters expelled from oil pipeline hub

K-DERE – Community elders expelled protesters occupying a major oil export pipeline in Nigeria on Friday and reopened valves to allow crude oil to flow, a traditional chief told Reuters from the facility.

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell had been forced to reduce output by 150 000 barrels per day because of the protest at the Bomu pipeline manifold, which began on Tuesday. About 100 members of the nearby K-Dere community, including traditional chiefs, chased away the protesters on Friday morning.”We can’t tolerate that behaviour.We are at the manifold and the valves are open,” Blessing Kolzor, chairman of the K-Dere council of chiefs, told Reuters at the site.The protesters had been demanding cash and contracts from Shell, which suspended oil production in the region 14 years ago, but still sends its crude through pipelines in the area.Kolzor said the community had used some technical experts to reopen the pipeline valves, although some of them had been damaged during the protest and he had called Shell to effect repairs.Nampa-ReutersAbout 100 members of the nearby K-Dere community, including traditional chiefs, chased away the protesters on Friday morning.”We can’t tolerate that behaviour.We are at the manifold and the valves are open,” Blessing Kolzor, chairman of the K-Dere council of chiefs, told Reuters at the site.The protesters had been demanding cash and contracts from Shell, which suspended oil production in the region 14 years ago, but still sends its crude through pipelines in the area.Kolzor said the community had used some technical experts to reopen the pipeline valves, although some of them had been damaged during the protest and he had called Shell to effect repairs.Nampa-Reuters