Shell Resumes Export of Forcados Oil 7months After Suspensiom

The first cargo is expected to load on September 28, trade sources told Reuters on Thursday, September 22.October exports are expected to be around 230,000 barrels per day, a preliminary loading list showed.

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), a local affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell, which operates the terminal had declared force majeure on exports on February 22 after a sub-sea pipeline was hit by militant group the Niger Delta Avengers.

Nigerian crude oil grades, including Bonny Light, Forcados, Brass, and Qua Iboe, had been under periods of force majeure which had negatively impacted on the 2.2m barrels per day (b/d) 2016 national budget.

Production plummeted to 1.69mb/d In May, 2016, following uptick in pipeline vandalism in the volatile Niger-Delta region, according to the NNPC.
However, the return of Forcados, Bonny Light and Qua Iboe could potentially increase Nigeria’s oil exports to over 1.8m b/d.
Shell had, 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.

Repairs of the NCTL could restore about 275, 000 barrels/day production shut-in since May 10, according to an NNPC June operation reports.

ExxonMobil is set to export Qua Iboe grade of crude, with the first cargo expected to load as early as the end of September. Qua Iboe is Nigeria’s largest crude oil stream and exports usually amounting to more than 300,000 barrels per day.