By Dipo Olowookere
Operations have resumed at the Forcados Export Terminal following the completion of repairs of the leaks on the Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP) by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC), operator of the Shell/NNPC Joint Venture.
The 17 months force majeure placed on the terminal was lifted on Tuesday at about 4pm, making the resumption of crude export possible again.
Spokesman of Shell Nigeria, Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, thanked the government for their support during the time of repairs.
He also expressed appreciation to security operatives in the country for their backing too, saying the repairs would not have been smooth if they had not provided security during the period.
Mr Odugbesan said with the reopening of the terminal, Nigeria was on track to achieve its crude oil production target of 2.2 million barrel per day (bpd).
Forcados crude had been under force majeure from operator Shell since a militant attack on the subsea pipeline in February 2016, part of a wave against oil facilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
Forcados exports were between 250,000 and 300,000 barrels per day prior to the strike claimed by a militant group called the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), which carried out series of bombings in the region last year.
Adedapo Adesanya