The export of 180, 000 barrels of crude oil per day from Nigeria was on Monday impaired as Shell shut down the Trans Niger Pipeline, one of two major pipelines that carries Bonny Light crude for export.
The shutdown is also expected to affect power generation, as the facility is also critical for continued domestic power supply through gas supply to Afam VI power plant.
Spokesperson for Shell Petroleum Development Company, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria, Precious Okolobo, who announced this, maintained that the line was shut following a leak at Gio in Ogoniland.
“SPDC shut down the Trans Niger Pipeline today, July 11, 2016, following a leak at Gio in Ogoniland,” Okolobo said.
“We are working towards a joint investigation visit into the cause of the leak, preparatory to repair of the line,” he added.
The joint probe of the leaks and corresponding spills is done with the federal government agency, the Nigeria Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency.
The Trans Niger Pipeline transports around 180,000 barrels of crude oil per day to the Bonny Export Terminal and is part of the gas liquid evacuation infrastructure, critical for continued domestic power generation (Afam VI power plant) and liquefied gas exports.
