Nigeria’s oil output drops by 140,000 barrells per day

Shell declares force majeure on Bonny Light exports
The nation’s oil output has dropped by about 140,000 barrels per day as a result of the shutdown of Nembe Creek trunk line in Bayelsa State that delivers crude oil from Shell’s producing fields to Bonny export terminal.

Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, which accounts for half of Nigeria’ oil production, said in a statement yesterday that it had declared force majeure on Bonny Light export programme yesterday.

The force majeure is meant to protect Shell from bearing any liabilities to crude oil buyers due to the shutdown. The company explained that the closure became necessary after a leakage was noticed on the pipeline.

Shell’s spokesman, Mr. Precious Okobolo, who signed the statement, said that SPDC was mobilising a team to repair the line after the investigation.

“The cause will be determined by a Joint Investigation Visit, which will be scheduled once the leak point has been excavated.


“There has been a recent upsurge in crude theft activities on the NCTL, resulting in frequent production shutdowns and massive oil spills blighting the environment,” the statement added.
Okobolo also stated that between February 22 and 25, flow stations producing into the pipeline were shut down by safety systems three times due to oil theft.

Prior to the shut down, Shell had cautioned that the theft of crude oil from its Nembe trunk line could threaten daily exports of 140,000 barrels of crude oil.

The SPDC Corporate Media Relations Manager, Mr. Tony Okonedo, said in a statement in Port Harcourt that the theft was coming barely 16 months after the old trunk line was replaced due to repeated attacks.

Okonedo added that on December 24, 2012, the line was shut down because of leaks caused by two failed bunkering points. “In one case, some 17 illegal bunkering points were found within a distance of 3.8 kilometres,” he said.

The Managing Director of the firm, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, had said the level of crude theft at the new Nembe creek trunk line had reached an alarming proportion with unbearable consequences for stakeholders.

“Some 70,000 barrels of oil per day were deferred in the December leak which took a month to repair because of the swampy terrain,” he had said. The Shell boss said helicopter over- flights on February 6 confirmed thriving crude theft activities at various points.

The firm stated in a recent report that Niger Delta unrest had turned into a worrying criminal movement, feeding on massive thefts of crude oil.

“Heavily armed and wellorganised groups attack oil and gas facilities in the region, shut down operations, kidnap staff and sabotage pipelines,” it said.

According to the report, “Rival gangs and ethnic groups have clashed violently in several of the delta’s towns. Barges take stolen oil to tankers waiting offshore for export.

There is also a massive illegal refining business based on stolen crude oil. “All these have reduced the amount of oil SPDC is producing, created environmental and social problems from oil spills and reduced government revenue that could be used to develop infrastructure and services.”

It stated that the Niger Delta continued to be a challenging place to operate because of many reasons, including fundamental lack of basic infrastructure, poverty, lack of employment opportunities and criminality. “We estimate that some 150,000 barrels of oil are stolen from facilities every day.

This is a huge amount and the effects of this industrial scale theft are devastating for both the people and the environment,” the report said.

It noted that this was evident from the thick smoke from illegal refineries that lined the shore, leaving the land, the shorelines and the water heavily polluted with oil.

“The scale of these operations is not hidden. The perpetrators of these crimes have set up barge building yards and storage depots for the stolen crude.

“This is not petty theft undertaken by desperate individuals struggling to make a living. These are well-funded crimes that may be connected with an international syndicate,” the report added.