Leak hit: Shell's Bonny Island terminal.
Bonny leak hits Shell Nigerian output
A pipeline leak at the Shell-operated Nigerian Bonny oilfields has cut 180,000 barrels per day of crude output, company officials said today, deepening supply losses from the world's eighth largest exporter.
The cause of the leak, which was discovered on Friday, was under investigation, the officials said.
"A joint investigation team is mobilising to go to the site and determine the cause, the volume spilled and so on," a Shell spokesman said.
Shell has now cut a total of 653,000 bpd of Nigerian production, mostly due to militant attacks on its facilities, Reuters reported.
"We don't know how long it will take to repair, we have to get the team there first to examine the damage," the spokesman said.
The leak occurred at Shell's Sanbarth-Krakrama pipeline, a section of the Nembe Creek trunk line in the eastern part of the Niger Delta.
The pipeline is linked to the 390,000 bpd Bonny crude stream, which is a light, sweet grade favoured by US refiners. Shell said force majeure, a technical release from honouring contracts, has not been declared for Bonny exports.
Last month, a pipeline leak in the same area caused Shell to temporarily cut around 50,000 bpd.