BY Bunmi Aduloju
Eni, the parent company of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), has declared a force majeure on anticipated oil output at its Brass terminal in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.
According to NAN, the declaration would mean a shortfall of 25,000 barrels of crude oil and 13 million standard cubic metres of gas per day from the terminal.
Force majeure is a clause that allows a company to skip contractual obligations following issues beyond its control.
“An incident occurred on the Ogoda/Brass 24 oil line at Okparatubo in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa. The incident was caused by a blast, consequently causing a spill,” NAN quoted Eni as saying.
“All wells connected to that pipeline were immediately shut whilst river booms and containment barges were mobilised to reduce the impact of the spill.
“Regulators for inspection visit and repair teams have also been activated. The Federal Government, Bayelsa, and security authorities were notified.”
Eni said the blast, which occurred a few days ago, resulted from an attack on the facility.
It was the second attack in the last three weeks after a similar incident on February 28 at Eni’s Obama flow station.
The Obama incident led to a production shortfall of 5,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
“Force Majeure has been declared at the Brass terminal, Bonny NLNG, and Okpai Power Plant,’’ Eni said.
The National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) confirmed that Joint Investigative Visits (JIVs) on the two incidents had been conducted.
It, however, said field officers assigned to the visits had not filed their reports.
Last month, Nigeria’s oil production dropped to 1.25 million bpd.
Last year December, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) had declared force majeure on exports of Nigerian Forcados crude oil after a malfunctioning barge obstructed a tanker path.
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