TheCable

Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC) says the Forcados oil terminal will resume export operations by the end of this month.

Since early August, Shell has been repairing a subsea hose which stopped exports of Forcados crude, one of the country’s largest export grades.

Abimbola Essien-Nelson, SPDC’s media relations manager, in a statement on Wednesday, said ongoing repair works on the Forcados oil terminal would be completed by the end of the month.

“In addition to the repairs, we are working to remove and clamp theft points on the onshore pipelines to ensure full crude oil receipt at the terminal,” she said.

According to Essien-Nelson, the active illegal connections to SPDC joint venture’s production lines and facilities in western Niger Delta as well as the inactive illegal connection to the onshore section of the 48-inch Forcados export line are part of the company’s ongoing programme to remove illegal connections on the pipelines that feed the terminal.

“SPDC gives priority to the removal of active illegal connections and to illegal connection points that have leaks. This scheduled programme is continuous as new illegal connections are identified during surveillance of the pipelines. An example of such illegal connection is that on the onshore section of the 48-inch Forcados export line which is currently not active and has no sign of leak at the interconnection point,” she said.

According to Global research and consultancy group, Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac), the terminal has an oil export capacity of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd).

On Monday, Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer (GCEO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, said he expects the country to add 500,000 barrels a day to its output by the end of November, mainly by restarting activities on the Shell Plc-operated Forcados export terminal and Trans Niger pipeline.

The Trans-Niger Pipeline (TNP) is a major pipeline that transports about 180,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Nigeria’s crude oil production has remained below par, decreasing to an average of 937,766 barrels per day (bpd) in September amid the lingering oil theft and pipeline vandalism.