Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd on Friday confirmed signs of a leak in the 48 inch Forcados export pipeline at a location between shoreline and the Forcados terminal in the western Niger Delta.
In a statement by its spokesman, Bamidele Odugbesan, the company said the incident happened between a shoreline and the Forcados Export Terminal which impacted seriously on its export capabilities.
“The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, operator of the SPDC JV, has confirmed signs of a leak on the 48 inch Forcados export pipeline at a location between shoreline and the Forcados terminal in the western Niger Delta, coming on the heels of a reported attack on the pipeline in the early hours of Friday, June 3,” the statement said.
Mr. Odugbesan said the company was assessing the impact of the damage and had “mobilised appropriate oil spill response measures”.
“We are yet to fully evaluate the potential impact and damage to the pipeline resulting from this latest incident. We have however mobilised appropriate oil spill response measures and will be conducting a joint investigation visit to the leak site with relevant stakeholders.
“We are currently focused on securing the pipeline to protect the environment. Given this latest incident and the wider security situation in the Niger Delta, we are unable to determine probable timing of resumption of exports from the Forcados terminal,” Mr. Odugbesan said.
Given this latest incident and the wider security situation in the Niger Delta, Shell said it was unable to determine the probable timing of the resumption of exports from the Forcados terminal.
Shell’s Forcados crude oil has been under force majeure since February.
The Niger Delta Avengers militant group claimed responsibility for recent attacks on Nigeria’s oil infrastructure, promising to cut production to zero.
__________
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2015 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.
