The Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell is to reduce its operations in Nigeria and shed jobs in a bid to retain its competitive edge, AFP reported, quoting a company spokesman yesterday. He said the restructuring of operations would begin in February and would “certainly lead to job cuts”. Some jobs would disappear with voluntary retirement and non-replacement of short-term staff at the end of contracts. Shell, which produces close to half of Nigeria’s two million barrels a day of crude, has been plagued by seizures of its installations by armed Ijaw youth. In addition, the world price of crude has dropped over the past year from US $22 to around US $8 a barrel at the end of 1998.
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