Yemisi Izuora
Shell has said it will not declare force majeure that no on Bonny Light crude oil exports after a fire in an area around a key pipeline.
Nigerian oil firm Aiteo, operator of the Nember Creek Trunk Line (NCTL), said the pipeline had not been impacted by a fire last week and had been shut since Feb. 28.
The NCTL is one of the two key pipelines that transports oil from various fields to the Bonny Light export terminal.
Shell’s local subsidiary SPDC operates exports from the terminal.
Aiteo, however, claimed that the fire incident which occured on 2 March 2019, when an explosion happened within the vicinity of Nembe Creek Well 7, behind Mile 1 Community in Bayelsa State, did not consume any life.
The affected facility is not too far from Nembe field logistics base (FLB) .
A statement by the oil firm said that despite initial challenges, the company’s operations team were able to access the well head area when the fire had completely died down on early hours of 2nd March.
It said that preliminary investigations confirm that there were no fatalities; human incidents or damage to community property. “All the wells and facilities in the immediate vicinity have been inspected and secured. This incident did not occur at or involve any part of the NCTL or other pipelines. It is important to note that prior to this incident, all facilities have been shut down since 28 of February 2019 due to NCTL outage. Accordingly, any account suggesting that this incident arose from or affected any pipelines is wholly inaccurate and misleading”, the statement said.
Meanwhile, full investigations to determine the cause of the fire and, in particular, to determine whether this may have been caused by third-party infractions, remain ongoing, and tge investigations are being pursed with the utmost urgency and are have been given the highest priority.
“We are continuing to work with all the relevant authorities to restore full functionality to all the relevant installations and affected areas.
In the time being, we express our gratitude to all our stakeholders for your continuing support and understanding whilst urging calm and vigilance.
As becomes necessary, we shall continue to share information on these developments in due course”, the statement added
