Shell Nigeria Shuts Down Trans Ramos Pipeline Oil Production Due to Leaks
May 25 2018 - 11:48AM
Dow Jones News
By Obafemi Oredein
Special to Dow Jones Newswires
IBADAN, Nigeria--Royal Dutch Shell PLC's (RDSA.LN) Nigerian unit
has shut down oil production from its Trans Ramos Pipeline in the
swamps of the western Niger Delta, in southern Nigeria, due to
leaks.
Bamidele Odugbesan, a spokesman of the Shell Petroleum
Development Company, said in a statement on Friday that the company
has confirmed four leak points on the pipeline and identified the
impacted areas.
"As soon as the leaks were noticed on April 24, SPDC immediately
shut down production, deployed containment booms and mobilized its
oil spill response teams to clean the sites," Mr. Odugbesan
said.
These measures, which Mr. Odugbesan said are SPDC's "standard
operating procedures," successfully stopped and contained the
spill. He did not say the volume of crude oil that had been lost
since the shutdown a month ago.
Mr. Odugbesan said the cause of the leaks is yet to be
determined as SPDC is said to be working on further site
preparation and mobilization of specialized equipment to the swamps
for safe excavation of the pipeline for inspection.
However, a Joint Investigation Visit team comprising security
and regulatory agencies as well as community representatives and
SPDC personnel was deployed in the sites, he added.
The JIV is expected to return to the sites as soon as possible
to complete the investigation process, according to Mr.
Odugbesan.
The Trans Ramos pipeline transports crude oil from Shell's
southern swamp area to the Forcados export terminal for processing,
Mr. Bamidele said.
Nigeria, Africa's largest crude-oil exporter relies on the
commodity for over 90% of its foreign exchange earnings and about
70% of government revenue, according to the International Monetary
Fund.
A disruption to oil production is bound to negatively affect the
country's stuttering economy that recently came out of recession
largely due to the fall in crude prices. Oil prices are now rising
and Nigeria needs all the dollars it can get for its
economic-development programs.
Write to Obafemi Oredein at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 25, 2018 11:33 ET (15:33 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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