Top Gas Provider Is Back In Business

Posted on : Tuesday , 27th January 2015

Nigeria has recommenced operations on its Trans Forcados oil pipeline, a senior oil official said on Monday. This will revive the generation part of the network which is paramount to almost half of the country’s gas production.

David Ige, Executive Director of gas and power at Nigerian National Petroleum Corp, told Reuters that the pipeline, which had been shut for a week due to sabotage, resumed on Saturday afternoon.

Bonny Light and Forcados are two of Nigeria’s most important oil grades meaning the suspension resulted in the downgrade of a significant part of Nigeria’s natural gas production. Reuters reported that gas fields had to be shut down because the condensate they produce alongside the gas is normally evacuated via Forcados. “Forcados is a major artery…when this pipeline is out we lose gas production… (It) accounts for 40-50 percent of gas production in the country,” said Ige.

The Trans Forcados pipeline, a major pipeline that transports crude oil from oil fields in Sapele, Oben and Oredo amongst others had documented up to four major breaks across its length, resulting in major capacity drops. This resulted in the cutting down of Nigeria’s total gas production by almost 50 percent in the month of January.

Royal Dutch Shell said its 150,000 bpd Nembe Creek oil pipeline, which conveys Bonny Light crude, was still shut. A leak was detected and the line was closed on January 17, a spokeswoman for the firm said.

The line is operated by Shell’s Nigerian joint venture SPDC together with the Nigerian government.