Shell shuts 200,000bpd Bonga field over oil leak

SHELL Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) has shut down the 200,000 barrel-per-day capacity Bonga deepwater facility, approximately 120 kilometres off the Nigeria coast, in response to detected oil leakage from the plant.A statement from the company confirmed that the leak occurred on Tuesday during a routine operation to transfer crude oil from Bonga's Floating Production, Storage and Off-loading (FPSO) vessel to a waiting oil tanker.According to the statement, 'an export line linking the FPSO to the tanker has been identified as the likely source, and has been closed and de-pressurised, halting the flow of oil.'It pointed out that early indications showed that less than 40,000 barrels of oil have leaked but SNEPCo has safely shut down production at the Bonga field as a precautionary measure.Speaking on the incident, Shell Nigeria Country Chair, Mutiu Sunmonu, said: '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.'He noted that Nigeria's Department of Petroleum Resources and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency have been notified of the incident.SNEPCo's Oil Spill Response Procedure and Emergency Response Team had been activated to manage the situation.SPDC had recently lifted the force majeure, which had been declared on Forcados loadings, following completion of repairs on the Trans Forcados Pipeline.The force majeure was declared on Forcados loadings on the October 10, for October, November and December 2011 cargoes, as a result of productionShut-in due to a sabotage leak on the Trans Forcados Pipeline. The leak was reported October 6, 2011.
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