Militant youths occupied a Royal Dutch Shell PLC oil installation in restive southern Nigeria on Friday, shutting down its production of 5,000 barrels a day, the company said, according to AP. James Jephtah, chairman of the Bayelsa State government peace and reconciliation commission, said young men angry about energy companies' activities in their desperately poor area seized the oil-pipeline switching station Friday morning. Jephtah and oil industry officials said the so-called flow station installation near Yenagoa, the capital city of Bayelsa state, belongs to the Shell oil giant. Shell spokeswoman Caroline Wittgen confirmed the incident, and said the installation's 5,000 barrels a day had been shut down by the youths, who remained there. Oil company staff members are rarely based at such small installations. Nigeria pumps about 2.1 million barrels of oil per day, and its southern oil region remains desperately poor, despite the billions of dollars worth of oil flowing from the area each year. Jobless young men angry at their poverty frequently protest by occupying oil infrastructure, seeking payment from oil companies. The companies, who operate in Nigeria in joint ventures with government agencies, say the government is responsible for the well-being of its citizens.
