(Adds details, Shell comment, background)
By Tife Owolabi
YENAGOA, Nigeria, April 18 (Reuters) - A Nigerian stategovernment has sealed the premises of the Gbaran Ubie oil andgas production facility owned by Royal Dutch Shell oncourt orders for operating without a permit and evicting itsstaff.
It was not clear whether the surprise move would immediatelyaffect oil and gas production at the facility, which Shell hadbeen expanding.
"The Gbaran Ubie facility was developed by Shell ... inBayelsa State without a development permit," the stategovernment, in the Niger Delta, said in statement on Monday.
It said Shell had "refused and failed to comply with theprovisions and requirements of the law and regulations madepursuant to the law".
A State High Court had ordered the premises to be sealed toallow inspectors "conduct environmental, health, technicalintegrity and safety checks on the facility", the statementsaid.
A Shell spokesman declined to comment, saying the oil majorwould issue a statement on Tuesday.
Shell had launched the facility in 2010 to with an initialgoal of from 2011 of 1 billion standard cubic feet of gas perday and up to 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil.
It planned to boost output to 1.3 trillion standard cubicfeet under expansion plan by adding more wells, Shell's websitesaid.
The facility supplies the Bonny liquefied natural gas (LNG)export terminal and helps also generate electricity, which isscarce in the West African nation.
Residents in the Delta have long complained about oil spillsand widespread poverty despite being home to much of Nigeria'soil production. (Reporting by Tife Owolabi; Writing by Ulf Laessing; editing byJohn Stonestreet)