Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) joint venture declared force majeure on lifting of Forcados blend effective March 25, 2014, due to ongoing repairs on the 48-inch crude export line at Forcados Terminal in the Western Niger Delta.
The subsea line was shut when a leak was discovered on March 4, 2014, leading to suspension of SPDC and third party crude oil exports through the terminal.
Helicopter overflights showed a slight sheen around the export line. A joint investigation conducted by representatives of communities, SPDC, regulators and security agencies determined that the leak was caused by third party interference; unknown persons had installed a crude theft point on the line in water depth of about eight metres.
BusinessDay on Tuesday reported that the gas supply from Trans Forcados pipeline to some major power plants have been suspended because of the leak.
The shutting down of the pipeline means taking off 220 million standard cubic feet of gas from the national gas supply grid.
