Mobil oil spill in southeast Nigeria

A ruptured oil pipeline has spilled some forty-thousand tonnes of oil off the coast of south-eastern Nigeria.

The Mobil oil company says the spill is currently three miles off the coast near the town of Qua Iboe, where there are many fishing communities.

Mobil says it has isolated the pipeline and taken measures to limit the effects on the communities.

The company says tidal and atmospheric conditions suggest the oil may not reach the coastline A BBC correspondent says tension between oil companies and local communities in Nigeria has reached a peak because of the environmental impact of oil production.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service