Shell Shuts Down 150,000BPD Pipeline

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) operated Joint Venture Thursday night said it had shut in the 24-inch Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) as a result of a confirmed leak on the line at the Bomu-Bonny section at Owokiri.
With the 28-inch TNP already shut for the removal of illegal oil theft connections, a total of about 150,000 barrels per day of oil had been deferred, the company said. Shell's Corporate Media Relations Manager, Mr. Tony Okonedo, said in a statement late Thursday night that the details of the latest incident, including the cause and size of spill were unclear at the moment.

Okonedo, said the TNP had been variously targeted by crude oil thieves in recent months and shut down several times to enable the removal of theft points.

He further disclosed that the relevant authorities had been notified of the incident, adding that the SPDC was mobilising to respond as quickly as possible with a joint investigation visit (JIV) and repairs, preparatory to clean up.

"The cause is not clear at this time but a joint investigation visit will follow to determine what happened," he said. He, however, could not disclose how much oil that was spilled.