Plant Blast Reduces Nigeria’s Oil Production by 25,000 Barrels per Day

The Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) had on Monday, 14th March, declared a Force Majeure on expected oil output at its Brass terminal in Yenagoa.

This update points to a reduction in the oil production in the country to 25,000 barrels of crude oil with 13 million standard cubic metres of gas per day from the Yeagoa terminal.

A Force Majeure is a clause to legally biding contracts that absolves firms from legal liabilities due to circumstances beyond their control.

The NAOC, through its parent company Eni, disclosed this in a statement that reads: “An incident occurred on the Ogoda/Brass 24 oil line at Okparatubo in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa. The incident was caused by a blast, consequently causing a spill. All wells connected to that pipeline were immediately shut whilst river booms and containment barges were mobilised to reduce the impact of the spill. Regulators for inspection visit and repair teams have also been activated. The Federal Government, Bayelsa and security authorities were notified.”

Investors King also gathered that this blast which occurred a couple of days ago was due to an attack on the company’s facilities in Yenagoa. This will also be the second remarkable attack in the last three weeks after a similar incident that occurred on 28th February at Eni’s Obama flow station.

Recall that the Obama incident also came with a production shortfall of 5,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

While there are no further leads on who or what groups might have carried out the attack, this update is quite worrisome when one considers the ongoing crisis with fuel in Nigeria. Also, this update is coming on the heels of a call by the Nigerian government to Turkey where the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva made an offering to Turkey to invest in Nigeria’s oil assets.

Keeping in mind the exit of major International Oil Companies (IOC), the minister called for investment from the Turks. And while this might have appeared as a good move, the recent attacks on certain oil facilities may be a major deterrent for many other companies who may have considered the West African region.