As of March 15, 2023, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has removed the force majeure that was previously placed on its Bonny export terminal, which has a capacity of 250,000 barrels per day. This declaration of force majeure was initially made on March 3, 2022, due to a substantial reduction in crude receipts at the Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal as a result of frequent crude theft and vandalism.
A spokesperson of SPDC disclosed this yesterday, saying, “The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), operator of the SPDC joint venture, has lifted the force majeure on Bonny export programme with effect from Wednesday, March 15, 2023.
“The force majeure was declared on March 3, 2022 following a significant decline in crude receipts at the Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal.”
Shell had previously declared a force majeure on their oil export program from the Bonny Light terminal due to a leak on the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) in November 22. The NCTL is one of two pipelines that supply crude to the terminal, and the force majeure was lifted after repairs were made to the line.
Nigeria has experienced significant oil losses over the past one to two years as a result of the activities of oil thieves and vandals.
In August 2022, Nigeria’s oil production reached an unprecedented low of 900,000 barrels per day (bpd), resulting in the country being surpassed by Angola as Africa’s leading oil producer, according to the September 2022 Monthly Oil Market Report published by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). OPEC’s report indicated that Nigeria’s crude oil production decreased from 1 million bpd in July 2022 to 900,000 bpd in August.
Mallam Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), expressed concern that Nigeria was experiencing a loss of approximately 95 percent of its oil production at the Bonny terminal due to theft.
“I can tell you, in one line, just less than 200 kilometres, we had 295 illegal connections and you see the data”, Kyari had said.
He had stated that Nigeria was losing nearly all the oil output at Bonny, the town after which its premium oil grade, Bonny Light is named after and a key export point for the country
“What is most difficult to manage today is the issue of crude oil theft, it is real and it is happening”, the GCEO had said.
Fortunately, Nigeria’s oil production has started to recover, with an increase to 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) due to a series of measures taken jointly by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), private security operatives, and government agencies to combat crude theft. Lifting the force majeure means that the events that triggered it such as pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft are no longer present or no longer have an impact on Shell’s ability to fulfill contractual obligations. It is also expected to boost Nigeria’s oil production capacity.
Source: Oriental News, This Day Live
