(Updates with context)
LONDON/BANGALORE, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Shell's Nigerian unit,Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), declared forcemajeure on Bonny Light crude oil exports on Thursday aftershutting down two key pipelines in the country due to a leak andtheft.
The Trans Niger Pipeline and the Nembe Creek Trunkline aretwo of the biggest onshore pipelines in Nigeria, and carry BonnyLight crude oil to vessels for export worldwide.
Planned exports of 162,000 barrels per day (bpd) of BonnyLight in September accounted for just over 8 percent ofNigeria's total planned exports of nearly 2 million bpd.
A leak was reported on the Trans Niger Pipeline at Oloma inRivers State, which has the capacity to carry around 180,000barrels a day of crude oil. SPDC closed the Nembe CreekTrunkline to remove crude theft points, it said in a statement.
Shell, whose SPDC subsidiary operates the pipelinewith Nigeria's state oil company NNPC, did not give a timelinefor restarting either line, and did not elaborate on the scaleof the leak. Traders said the force majeure was unlikely to lastlong, depending on the size of the leak.
Theft is rampant in Nigeria's oil industry, and Shell hasbeen forced several times over the past year to close itspipelines to remove theft points or clean up oil spills.
The pipeline closures do not always lead to a force majeuredeclaration, and even when they do, it does not preclude someexport cargoes from loading.
Shell has also come under increasing pressure to pay damagesfor oil spills. Earlier this year, it agreed to pay 55 millionpounds ($85 mln) to the Bodo community for a spill in the NigerDelta.
The issue could create a problem for Shell on the physicaloil market, as traders said it was still holding the bulk of theexport cargoes, but it could also alleviate the generaloversupply of crude oil in the Atlantic Basin.
Nearly 10 million barrels of September-loading Nigeriancrude oil cargoes are still looking for buyers, and face steepcompetition from other crude oil grades. ($1 = 0.6492 pounds) (Reporting By Libby George in London and Nallur Sethuraman inBengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Susan Fenton)