Shell's Nigerian unit has shut down one of two lines that carry Bonny Light crude to the export terminal in order to remove oil theft points and repair leaks, Reuters reported on Friday, quoting Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
SPDC is shutting down the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) to "remove a significant number of oil theft connections and repair any leaks on the pipeline," Shell's Nigerian subsidiary said, adding that it "will work with the security forces during shutdown to clear illegal connections on NCTL".
According to Reuters, Bonny Light exports of around 232,000 bpd had been planned for April, but it has not become clear whether this would affect loadings. Shell has declined to comment how the shutting of one of the lines would affect exports, but according to oil traders who spoke to Reuters, loading plans have not been impacted.
A more recent loading schedule compiled by Reuters for May shows that there are plans for 6 cargoes of 189,000 bpd of Bonny Light exports, compared to 8 cargoes of 232,000 bpd planned for April.
Shell's Nigerian unit declared and lifted force majeure on various Bonny Light operations several times last year due to various reasons, including sabotages.
In September, Shell shut down one of the two pipelines that carry Bonny light crude to its Forcados terminal in the Niger Delta, saying that a fire was detected "on the right of way" of the pipeline. The shutdown was expected to take 180,000 bpd off Shell's Nigerian exports.
More recently, Shell's Nigerian subsidiary said in early March that it had shut down for maintenance the Bonga field, which has the capacity to produce some 225,000 barrels of crude daily, until April. The company provided no further details, but Nigerian media estimated the daily loss in revenue at $10.95 million (3.45 billion naira) at current oil prices.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More