With Royal Dutch Shell currently testing its Trans Forcados crude export pipeline (Nigeria), it may restart by the weekend, according to news sources citing Reuters. The Astro Perseus tanker is currently en route to Nigeria to load the terminal with its first cargo by the weekend.
The Trans Forcados pipeline, which has a daily capacity of 240 000 bpd, has been a target for militant groups. It was attacked in February last year and has since then, the pipeline has spent the majority of time shutdown. The pipeline was repaired and exports briefly resumed in October, before the pipeline was attacked again in November.
A full resumption of Forcados could complicate matters for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which has seen its member nations to cut output due to a fall in benchmark oil prices. While Nigeria was exempt from the original cuts, according to Reuters, “Nigerian Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said his country would voluntarily join the cuts if its production reached 1.8 million bpd.”
Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/11052017/trans-forcados-pipeline-set-to-reopen-soon/