Shell Nigeria Reopens its Delta State Forcados Terminal

• The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), has reopened its Forcados terminal in Delta State.
• The Forcados terminal has had a long history of shutdowns in the past. The pipeline was shut down in May 2018 for repairs over heavy leakage.
• The operation of the pipeline, which exports around 240,000 barrels of crude oil daily, will help Nigeria meet the Opec quota in this time of revenue shortages.

International oil-producing company, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), has lifted the force majeure that was earlier declared on the export of crude oil from its Delta State Forcados Terminal.

Reuters’ report states that the Royal Dutch shell subsidiary lifted the force majeure that it had previously declared a few days ago when it reopened the pipeline carrying crude oil from its Forcados Terminal Delta State, one of the country’s largest.

A spokeswoman for Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria announced that the Trans Forcados pipeline owned by Heritage Energy Operational Services Ltd has been reopened.

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Force Majeure refers to a clause generally found in contracts relieving all parties of obligations if an extraordinary occurrence prohibits either or both parties from meeting their obligations.

It could be recalled that Shell had earlier shut down the Forcados pipeline on April 4, 2020, and subsequently declared a force majeure on April 6, 2020.

The Forcados terminal has had a long history of shutdowns in the past. The pipeline was shut down in May 2018 for repairs over heavy leakage.

It was shut down for major repairs in October 2016 after its loading system was disrupted by a militant attack. The pipeline was also shut down by Shell and Heritage in May last year as a result of a fire outbreak and in February 2016 as a result of a bomb attack by Niger Delta Avengers.

The reopening of the Forcados Terminal, the main trunk line in the Forcados pipeline system and the second largest network in the Niger Delta after the Bonny Oil Pipeline Network, will be a significant boost for the Nigerian economy.

The operation of the pipeline, which exports around 240,000 barrels of crude oil daily from the country, will boost the capacity of the country to meet its allocated OPEC production quota particularly during this time of enormous revenue shortages.