Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has lifted a force majeure on exports of Forcados crude oil which had been in effect for more than two months
Following a series of leaks that were detected on the Trans-Forcados Pipeline, the export delivery line for Forcados crude, SPDC had declared the force majeure on 5 May 2015. It had effectively stalled exports of 189,000 barrels per day of Forcados crude in May and 158,000 barrels per day scheduled for June. Additionally, some of the cargoes scheduled to export a total of 6.3mn barrels of Forcados crude in July were deferred to August.
Following the completion of repairs to the Trans-Forcados Pipeline, which is operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the company lifted the force majeure earlier this week.
Trans-Forcados pipeline is the main pipeline that transports crude oil produced by Shell and other third parties in the western Niger Delta to the Forcados Export Terminal in Delta State.
Apart from Shell, Seplat Petroleum Development Company, Pan Ocean Corporation and NPDC transport their crude oil through the pipeline. Seplat has built an alternative pipeline to supply its crude to the Warri Refinery but the bulk of more than 70,000 bpd it produces is transported through the Trans-Forcados pipeline.
Though the pipeline is a crude oil facility, the liquid condensate produced in gas fields along with the gas is also usually transported through the pipeline. Its closure therefore also affects power generation in the region, since gas-dependent power stations are shut down due to lack of gas.
The closure of the pipeline in January earlier this year due to sabotage had led to a drop in power generation by 1,500MW.
