Shell declared force majeure on oil liftings from the Forcados export terminal in Delta State owing to a leaking pipe, which resulted in supply outage about 400,000 barrels of oil per day.
The 48-inch diameter export pipeline, shut last month and planned to be reopened in April, is one of Nigeria’s biggest pipelines.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in its Oil Market Report for this month, said the force majeure and outages around the Mediterranean and Turkey have helped to boost the market.
It said: “Outages around the Mediterranean, with Turkey’s Ceyhan pipeline down, and in West Africa, with force majeure imposed on shipments of Nigeria’s Forcados until April, have helped boost North Sea prompt prices. Supply distribution in the North Sea itself has also helped.”
The report also noted that after three months of sharp declines, crude oil futures recovered amid numerous positive factors that ignited speculations that oil markets would soon be balanced. This suggested that the 20-month sell-off could be hitting bottom, it added.
Force Majeure on Nigeria’s Forcados Lifts Price in Global Oil Market https://t.co/9tIsFmgITi #nigeria #globaloil #market