Shell shuts down Bonga with Nigeria losing N3.45bn daily
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Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) on Monday announced the shutdown of Bonga field, a move that is expected to cause oil firms and the nation a huge loss of revenue estimated at N3.45bn daily.A statement signed and issued by the Corporate Media Relations Manager of the company, Precious Okolobo, stated that the Bonga deepwater oilfield was shut down on Saturday to enable it commence turnaround maintenance on the field and also execute statutory activities that will ensure continuous optimum operations at the field.The turnaround maintenance involves inspections, recertification, testing and repair of equipment as well as engineering upgrades with Nigerian companies and subsea professional playing key roles.SNEPCo added that production from the field is expected to resume at the conclusion of the exercise next month.“The exercise will help ensure sustained production and reduced unscheduled production deferments. This is the fourth turnaround maintenance since Bonga began production”, said Mr. Bayo Ojulari, The Managing Director, SNEPCo.A major focus is the Bonga Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading vessel, which is at the heart of the Bonga operations. The Bonga FPSO has the capacity to produce 225,000 barrels of oil and 150 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, Ojulari further explained.The shutdown of Bonga field is coming a year after Shell declared force majeure on Forcados export after the terminal was shut. It has yet to be lifted as of the time of filing this report.According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, at the Forcados terminal alone, about 300,000 bpd were shut-in since February 2016 following the force majeure declared by Shell Petroleum Development Company.Reuters reported that market sources had expected work on the field because there were no exports planned in March, compared with typical exports of roughly 200,000 barrels per day.Using an oil price of $54.4 per barrel, as seen on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website, the 200,000 bpd would amount to $10.8m or N3.32bn (at the official exchange rate of N305.25 per dollar).With the price of natural gas put at $2.83 per 1,000 scf as of March 3, 2017, the 150 million scf capacity translates to a loss of $424,500 or N129.58m.Credit: Nigeria Today Discover more from NewsBreakers
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