THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell Nigeria: Shuts In 35,000 B/D Oil In Niger Delta: “A statement by Shell on the shutdown says 10 million standard cubic feet a day of natural gas supplied by Shell to the Nigerian Gas Company and industries in Aba has also been affected.” (ShellNews.net) Posted 27 Jan 05

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

LAGOS -- A spokesman for Royal Dutch/Shell Group's (RD, SC) Nigerian unit said the company has shut in 35,000 barrels-a-day of crude oil at one of its flow stations in the Niger Delta.

The spokesman said the company was forced to shut in the station Monday, after protesters attacked the facility.

The spokesman, Bisi Ojediran, said the community was protesting against the state's choice of a representative for the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission.

Each of Nigeria's nine oil-producing states has a representative on the board of the Commission, which oversees the development of the Niger Delta region.

Ojediran said the oil facilities shut in are the Imo River 1 and 3, in the Owaza Community in Abia State, southeast Nigeria, which is also part of the Niger Delta.

A statement by Shell on the shutdown says 10 million standard cubic feet a day of natural gas supplied by Shell to the Nigerian Gas Company and industries in Aba has also been affected.

Aba is an industrial town in southeast Nigeria.

Shell , through its joint venture company with the Nigerian government, Shell Petroleum Development Co., is the country's biggest oil producer.

-By Vincent Nwanma, Dow Jones Newswires; +234 1 585 0849; vincent.nwanma@dowjones.com