Shut in: Facilities at Nigeria's Bonny Island.
Shell puts Bonny contracts on hold
Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell has declared force majeure on loadings of Nigerian Bonny Light oil, a fresh setback for supply from the world's eighth largest oil exporter, oil traders said today.
The force majeure, a technical release from honouring contracts, follows a pipeline leak that has cut oil output by 180,000 barrels per day in the Bonny oil production stream operated by Shell's Nigerian venture.
"There is a force majeure," one trader said. "The notice has gone out to the equity holders. It will obviously impact everything in July and August."
Shell has now cut a total of 653,000 bpd of Nigerian production, mostly due to militant attacks on its facilities. The supply loss from Nigeria has helped push crude oil prices to record highs this year, Reuters said.
A Shell spokesman in London was unable immediately to comment on the force majeure.
Bonny Light cargoes will be delayed by two and six days according to an initial estimate, one trader said.
Another trader said the force majeure will affect all production from the Bonny fields.
On Tuesday, Shell said there was no timeframe to restart the lost production, caused by a leak discovered last Friday on a section of its Nembe Creek trunk line in Rivers state, in the Niger Delta.
News of the export delay at Bonny comes on the heels of an attack on an oil flow station operated by Agip in southern Nigeria that has caused a "significant decrease" in output, Agip's parent company said today.
The attackers targeted the Ogbainbiri flow station in Bayelsa state in the Niger Delta late today, Italian firm Eni said, adding that about 40 subcontractors, security and catering staff were there at the time.