YENAGOA, Nigeria, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Suspected militants haveattacked an oil pipeline operated by a local affiliate of Shell in Nigeria's restive southern Niger Delta region,locals and a community group said on Monday.
Militants have attacked oil and gas facilities in the OPECmember's energy hub over the last few months, cutting thecountry's crude production -- which stood at 2.2 million barrelsper day (bpd) at the start of the year -- by around 700,000 bpd.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for a blast at the TransRamos Pipeline near Odimodi, operated by Shell's joint ventureSPDC, which locals said happened in the early hours of Sundayshortly after 1:00 a.m. (0000 GMT). Shell said the line wasclosed for repairs.
Endoro New-world, a local, said the blast shook nearby homesand created a "ball of fire".
"At sunrise, a group from the community in company of theSPDC surveillance team was able to locate the site of theblast," he said.
Community leader Godspower Gbenekama also said residentsheard a loud explosion, adding that there had been an oil spill.
Shell issued a statement on Monday in which it said it was"investigating the reported incident".
"The Trans Ramos Pipeline (TRP) transports oil to ForcadosTerminal and has been shut since the leak on the Forcados exportline on February 14, 2016," it said. (Reporting by Tife Owolabi and Anamesere Igboeroteonwu; Writingby Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Louise Heavens)
