20110714
Reuters
IMIRINGI, Nigeria, July 14 (Reuters) - Nigerian youths broke into a Niger Delta crude oil flow station owned by Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday in protest at what they said was the firm's failure to provide their communities with electricity.



Shell officials were not immediately available for comment and there was no indication that production was affected.

"We are protesting (because) Shell has failed to honour a Global Memorandum of Understanding that if they have electricity in their base, we also should enjoy the same," said a local community leader who was part of the protest.

Witnesses said the youths had locked themselves in the flow station and the military had arrived to secure the area.

A spokesman for a joint security task force said the protest could continue if it did not impact the general public.

Shell has been operating onshore in Africa's most populous nation longer than any other foreign energy major.

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant has been the target of sabotage attacks and protests for decades from communities who feel foreign oil companies have grown rich from the oil reserves under their feet, while they continue to live in poverty.

Shell says the four main states in the Niger Delta receive around $1 billion of oil revenue a year from the Nigerian government. Corruption has been one of the barriers to turning that revenue into benefits for communities.

Shell says its joint venture production partnership, which includes France's Total and Italian energy firm Eni, paid $31 billion to the Nigerian government between 2006 and 2010 in taxes and royalties.