The Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) on Thursday revealed that the November 20 explosion at its oilfield in Bayelsa State has cut crude oil production by 30,000 barrels per day.
The explosion caused by vandals that damaged both NAOC and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) pipelines resulted in cumulative shut-in crude oil production at the oilfield of 180,000 barrels per day pending when the breached pipelines are fixed.
NAOC parent company, Eni, said in an email statement that the oil firm had declared ‘force majeure’ on oil exports from its Brass Oil Export Terminal to absolve the company of any liabilities that could arise from contractual litigations.
According to Eni, preliminary checks at the facility indicate that the vandals used explosives in the attack which blew up two vital pipelines leading to shutdown of oil production from the field.
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“We confirm two sabotage events by means of explosive devices, which damaged two pipelines in the swamp area in the night between Friday 20th and Saturday 21st,” the statement said.
“Production was stopped immediately after the event, consequently the emergency response team has been mobilized and able to contain the spill with booms a few hours later,” it said.
Although the leak has been contained and cleanup commenced at the scene of the explosion at Ikarama Community in Yenagoa Local Government Area, the company explained that full production could resume in about a week.
“Impact on production is estimated at 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily (boed) of which Eni’s share amounts approximately to 6,000 boed,” Eni stated.
“Force majeure was declared on Brass terminal to notify contractually the export tankers about the delays in the lifting schedule of about one week on the original plan. Regulatory agencies and government security agencies have been notified and are investigating,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) through its State Commandant, Christiana Abiaka-Omanu, said its preliminary findings indicate that the attack was carried out by vandals.
Abiaka-Omanu said the investigation into the incident was underway and the findings would form part of the statutory Joint Investigative Visit (JIV), which would include representatives of the oil firms, communities, regulators and officials of Bayelsa Ministry of Environment.
