Repairs of vandalised oil facilities in Nigeria is set to help drive up the volume of the country’s crude oil exports by 575,000 barrels, per day, in the last quarter of 2016.
ExxonMobil is the latest oil giant to have a pipeline prepared to export Qua Iboe grade of crude, with the first cargo expected to load as early as the end of September, Reuters reports, quoting trading sources.
Qua Iboe is Nigeria’s largest crude oil stream, exporting more than 300,000 barrels per day. Exports had been under force majeure since July after a leak on the 48-inch pipeline carrying it to the export terminal.
Shell, last week, lifted force majeure on Bonny Light, Nigeria’s benchmark crude oil grade, following the repair and reopening of the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) by the pipeline’s operator, Aiteo.
The repairs of the NCTL potentially restored about 275, 000 barrels/day production shut-in since May 10, according to an NNPC June operation reports.
However, two other Nigerian crude oil grades, Forcados and Brass River, remained under force majeure. Shell had in February declared force majeure on lifting from the Forcados export terminal while in May, an Italian oil major, Eni, declared force majeure on the Brass River grade, following an attack on a key pipeline at the Brass Rivers terminal.
Exports of crude from the country have plunged to the lowest in almost 30 years, following the spate of production disruptions caused by militant attacks on oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta but the country’s oil production has remained resilient.
