Shell’s local unit in Nigeria has force majeure on Bonny Light crude oil exports.
According to Reuters, force majeure on the Bonny Light exports was effective on Thursday, after the Nembe Creek Trunk Line was shut down, one of two pipelines transporting the grade.
Reuters said the trade was limited with Eni offering cargoes of Nigerian Brass River and Angolan Palanco, one of the last from the August Angolan programme.
However, traders were looking ahead to next week’s release of the September schedules.
Shell resumed Forcados exports at the end of May after a nearly complete shutdown since February 2016. The grade’s operator, Shell’s local subsidiary SPDC, issued an initial June schedule of 197,000 bpd before increasing it to 252,000 bpd.
The resumption cemented Nigeria’s return to the status of Africa’s largest oil exporter, a title it lost to Angola following militant attacks on oil infrastructure in the oil-rich Niger Delta region during 2016.
With the force majeure in place on Bonny Light and loading delays of as much as 10 days, Nigeria’s export plans for June and July are likely to change.
Cargoes of EA and Pennington were also added to the initial June programme. Nigeria will also export four cargoes of Akpo
condensate in July, the same figure as in June.
