The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

Shell building new Nigerian pipeline to bypass high-theft area:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323393804578559323475377146.html

A joint venture led by Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Friday it will invest $1.5 billion on a new pipeline in Nigeria in a bid to reduce oil theft that has caused serious environmental damage in the country and disrupted crude production.

The new pipeline…will "bypass a whole area where there has been a significant quantity of oil theft," in the Ogoniland region… The new pipeline is a loop off the existing Trans Niger Pipeline that will pass through a swampier area, where more of the pipeline will be submerged... This location will make oil theft more difficult and the pipeline will also be protected by stronger intruder-detection technology.

…Shell has said thieves steal an estimated 60,000 barrels a day from its Nigerian joint venture, Shell Petroleum Development Co… a joint venture between Shell, state-owned Nigeria National Petroleum Corp. and the local units of France's Total SA and Italy's Eni SpA.

Too bad they didn’t decide to do this a few years ago.