Shell reports production back after repairs to pipeline

AFP

2 November 2011

Shell reports production back after repairs to pipeline

LAGOS — Anglo-Dutch oil group Shell said on Wednesday it had resumed exports of crude from its Nigeria's Forcados terminal after repairs to a damaged supply pipeline.

Shell's Nigerian joint venture said "the force majeure which had been declared on Forcados loadings, following completion of repairs on the Trans Forcados Pipeline," was lifted on Tuesday.

Force majeure, a legal term releasing a company from contractual obligations owing to circumstances beyond its control, was declared on Forcados loadings on October 10 as a result of production shutdown due to a sabotage leak on the Trans Forcados Pipeline.

Pipeline damage and associated spills are common in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region as a result of oil theft to feed the lucrative black market.