Ananova:

Royal Dutch/Shell could be forced to leave Nigeria by 2008 because of violence in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, a study funded by the group shows.

The study, conducted by a team of experts on the region, also found that Shell inadvertedly fed the conflict in the Niger Delta.

"In 2003, we enlisted three internationally-known conflict experts to better understand how our activities are affected by, and contribute to, the conflict," the company said.

"Their fieldwork ... highlighted how the conflict makes it difficult for us to operate safely and with integrity," it said.

The report also illustrated "how we sometimes feed conflict by the way we award contracts, gain access to land, and deal with community representatives".

The Niger Delta region, the source of Nigeria's massive oil exports, is regularly beset by bouts of faction fighting and crime.

However, Shell said it did not share the view that it could be forced to get out of the country.