By Dipo Olowookere
Barely two months after the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) declared force majeure on the Bonny Light Export, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant on Friday announced the lifting of the force majeure, indicating resumption of normal loading activities from its Bonny terminal in Rivers State.
SPDC had declared the force majeure on May 17, 2018, following the shutdown of the Nembe Creek Trunkline (NCTL) by the operator, Aiteo Eastern E&P Company Limited.
Aiteo also declared force majeure on the NCTL production which necessitated the subsequent action by SPDC on Bonny Light exports.
The NCTL is one of the two major production lines feeding the Bonny Terminal, the other being the SPDC-operated Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP).
Business Post reports that the NCTL is a 97 kilometre, 150,000 barrels of oil per day pipeline constructed by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, but handed over to Aiteo Eastern E&P Company Limited about three years ago.
This is not the first time the Nembe Creek Trunk line has been shut down and reopened. The NCTL is located in Rivers State, one of the states in the oil-rich Niger-Delta region of Nigeria.
Adedapo Adesanya