BUZZ-Shell says Nigerian oil theft volume fell nearly 80 pct in 2016

April 12 (Reuters) - ** Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) said the volume of oil stolen from its joint-venture operations in Nigeria fell to 5,600 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2016, the company said in its annual sustainability report

** This represents a 77.6-percent fall from 25,000 bpd in oil thefts in 2015 partly due to better air and ground surveillance and anti-theft mechanisms installed on equipment

** Shell said its Nigerian subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) had removed more than 880 theft points since 2012

** The oil price fell to as little as $27 a barrel in January 2016, before recovering to around $50 by year-end. A series of attacks on the Trans Forcados pipeline last year kept this export line closed for all but a few weeks of 2016.

** Shell also said the number of sabotage-related oil spills fell to 45 in 2016 from 93 the previous year, despite a resurgence in attacks on oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta

** It registered seven operational spills last year, down from 16 in 2015, spilling 200 tonnes of oil