Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell has resumed production of 120 000 barrels per day of crude at an offshore oilfield that was shut three weeks ago because of hostage-taking, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“Production has restarted at the EA field. We resumed at the weekend,” the spokesman said.
Armed pirates kidnapped four foreign sub-contractors — an American, a Briton, a Bulgarian and a Honduran — from a boat working in the EA field on January 11, leading to a precautionary halt to production.
The hostages were released early on Monday after spending 19 days in captivity and were later received in Abuja by President Olusegun Obasanjo, who assured foreign oilworkers of their safety in the country.
In a separate incident on January 11, an unidentified gang sabotaged Shell’s Trans-Ramos pipeline in the Brass Creek area of southern Nigeria’s Niger Delta, forcing the company to halt production equivalent to 106,000 barrels per day.
On January 13, Shell declared a “force majeure”, warning customers that crude oil exports from the Forcados terminal would be delayed because of the attack on the pipeline.
Force majeure means “greater force”. These clauses excuse a party from liability if some event beyond its control prevents it from performing its obligations under the contract.
The company spokesperson said exports from the terminal have yet to resume.
Shell, a major operator, accounts for around half of Nigeria’s daily exports of 2,6-million barrels and the shut in from the two incidents led to a loss of about eight percent of the country’s total output. – AFP