Nigerian – Shell Says Major Pipeline Shut After Leak

Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary has recovered over 95% of the oil from two spills that took place this year, although the pipeline that carries crude to the coast for export remains closed, the company said on August 20.

The Trans Ramos pipeline, which carries crude oil to the Forcados export terminal, closed in late April following two leaks in Bayelsa State and Delta State.

Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria said as soon as clean-up and site assessment are completed, the company would start remediation of the impacted areas. It said a joint team of investigators was studying the cause and impact of the spills.

Although Shell did not state the volume of crude affected due to the closure, the pipeline has a capacity of 100,000 b/d of crude. Forcados output has ranged between 200,000-250,000 b/d in the past few months.

Repeated attacks on the Forcados pipelines as well as on the export terminal halted exports for most of the period between February 2016 and May 2017.

Civil unrest in the states through which the pipelines pass and large scale oil theft have caused a large number of leaks from the pipelines in recent years.