Shell shuts 200,000bpd Bonga deepwater field

Royal Dutch Shell shut down its 200,000 barrels per day Bonga offshore oilfield off the Nigerian coast after a leak occurred while loading a tanker on Tuesday, the firm said in a statement.With the shutdown of the field, one of the biggest in the country, Nigerias oil production has temporarily dropped by 8.3 per cent. The country currently produces 2.4 million barrels of crude oil per day and the Federal Government has projected a daily production of 2.48 million barrels in the 2012 budget.Shell said that less than 40,000 barrels of oil had leaked into the ocean, adding that the flow of oil had now been halted.The statement quoted Shell Nigerias Country Chairman, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, as saying, We are sorry this leak has happened. As soon as we became aware of it, we stopped the flow of oil and mobilised our own resources, as well as industry expertise, to ensure its effects are minimised.It is important to stress that this was not a well control incident of any sort, and to make clear that no one has been injured. Our focus now is on a speedy and effective clean-up.Reutersquoted a Shell spokesman as saying that the flow of oil had been halted on all three of the platforms export lines where it was believed that the leak occurred.An investigation would be launched into the reasons for the leak, he said, without giving a timeframe for the restart of production.Oil traders in West Africa said news of the shutdown would likely boost prices for other Nigerian grades.It should lend some support to the remaining Nigerian oil, one trader said.Shells share price fell during the day by more than one per cent on Wednesday to 2,274 pence by 1405 GMT. Brent oil prices were up by 63 cents at $107.36 a barrel by the same time.Oil traders and analysts said the Bonga closure could be supportive both for Brent oil futures and other Nigerian crude streams, where demand is expected to increase.Given the current sensitivity to potential supply disruptions and rising geopolitical tensions, it just adds to the uncertainty in 2012... It will limit the downside on Brent should broader market sentiment turn, Andrey Kryuchenkov of VTB Capital said.Bonga was due to load around 161,000 bpd on five tankers in January, according to oil loading programmes.Shell had also on February 21, 2011, shut down the Bonga field for maintenance. The maintenance lasted for about six weeks.The Bonga field, located 120 kilometres (75 miles) in the Atlantic waters offshore Nigeria, has the capacity to pump more than 200,000 barrels of crude and 150 million cubic feet of gas a day, according to the companys website.It also supplies natural gas to the Nigeria LNG Limiteds liquefaction plant on Bonny Island that supplies long-term buyers in Europe.
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