'We have shut down all flowstations that feed into the pipeline. It is a long stretch of pipeline that conveys production from (Shell's Nigerian joint venture) SPDC and third parties,' Shell spokesman Precious Okolobo said.
He said he could not immediately confirm whether production had been affected. The cause of the blaze was not known.
'We have mobilised our firefighting team and they are preparing to fight the fire,' he said.
The Trans-Niger pipeline crosses Ogoniland, a region where Shell closed its production operations in 1993 due largely to popular protests over pollution and lack of development.
President Umaru Yar'Adua announced last year that the government would give the oilfields, located in the restive Niger Delta, to another company after Shell abandoned them.
Shell said not long afterwards that it would not mount a legal challenge to the plan, but villagers last year staged protests against the Anglo-Dutch giant, accusing the company of trying to force its way back into the area.
Acts of sabotage against oil pipelines are common across the Niger Delta.
Some are carried out by militants who say they are fighting for a fairer share of the region's natural wealth, others by thieves who tap into the pipelines to try to siphon off oil.
(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/)
(Reporting by Nick Tattersall; editing by Mike Nesbit) Keywords: NIGERIA SHELL/ (Reuters messaging: nicholas.tattersall.reuters.com@reuters.net, Lagos Newsroom +234 1 463 0257) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
© 2009 AFX News
