Avengers force Shell to shut down Nigeria’s major crude oil export line

By Prince Okafor 

 Gas flare at Shell Cawtharine Channel, Nembe Creek in Niger Delta. AFP photoNigeria’s crude oil production suffered fresh set back Monday as Trans Niger Pipeline, (TNP), which exports about 180, 000 barrels of crude oil per day was shut down as a precautionary measure after a fire was seen on the “right of way” at Gio community in Ogoni land, one of the two pipelines that export Bonny Light crude oil. TNP transports crude oil to the Bonny Export Terminal and is part of the liquid gas evacuation infrastructure, critical for continued domestic power generation (Afam VI power plant) and liquefied gas exports. 
According to the spokesman for Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC), the operator of the joint venture with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Precious Okolobo, “It was not yet clear whether export supplies will be subject to force majeure. A joint investigation visit will determine the cause and impact of the fire.” The line is also the right of way for a Bonny-refinery pipeline belonging to the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of NNPC. 
A project officer with a local environmental rights group, Kentebe Ibiaridor, said: “The fire is huge and still raging when I left, we do not know the cause of fire yet, whether it is sabotage or system failure. Bonny Light crude is also exported through the Nembe Creek Trunk Line. 
On Saturday, the Niger Delta Avengers, a group that has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks on Nigerian oil infrastructure this year, said it had struck a Bonny Light pipeline, ending several weeks of calm under a ceasefire with the government. A spokesman for the militants had said in an emailed statement that the attack on Saturday was in the sea near Bonny island, making it unclear whether the incidents were related. 
Recall that SPDC shut down the Trans Niger Pipeline on the 11th of July 2016, following a leak at same location in Ogoniland, and SPDC said then that the line was shut down following a leak at Gio in Ogoniland. 
The joint probe of the leaks and corresponding spills is done with the federal government agency, the Nigeria Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA). The other major pipeline, the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) that transports Bonny Light to port was operating normally, several industry sources said. Local upstream firm, Aiteo, operates the NCTL. The force majeure had been announced after a leak was found on the NCTL on May 11.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/avengers-force-shell-shut-nigerias-major-crude-oil-export-line/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

http://www.ibtimes.com/apple-175-iphones-risk-if-fbi-wins-court-victory-2327305

BY  MIKE BROWN Apple's challenge of a court order to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino killers opens up a new front in the long-running battle between technology companies and the government over encryption. PHOTO: KENA BETANCUR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Granting the FBI access to the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone would set a precedent that could be used “on over 175 phones,” Apple plans to tell the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday. Bruce Sewell, Apple general counsel, will testify in a hearing called “Balancing Americans’ Security and Privacy,” and  Re/code  has released Sewell’s prepared speech ahead of the meeting. Sewell will reference comments from Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance, who said in an interview with NPR  that his cyber lab cannot access 175 phones out of a total 670 phones being held. Vance said that he wants Apple to unlock phones “when there is a court order by an independent judge” that proves it is necessary. The FBI want access to
Read more

At Mobile World Congress, Mobility In The Cognitive Era

Image
By Mahmoud Naghshineh, IBM More than 90,000 people will convene at  Mobile World Congress  in Barcelona this week to learn about the latest in mobile tech. Besides checking out the hottest new devices, including the  Internet of Things  (IoT) and wearables, I expect attendees will be talking a lot about how mobility is creating new models for the enterprise, as well as pathways to greater efficiency and growth. We’ll be sharing our unique point of view on how the powerful combination of  cognitive computing  and mobility can serve up insights that change the way professionals and businesses work. We’ve launched more than  100 IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps , which has put  analytics  in the hands of professionals ranging from wealth advisors to flight attendants, first responders, nurses and sellers to help them make better decisions, deliver superior service and delight their customers. Clients are deploying  IBM MobileFirst for iOS  and we’ve seen exciting use cases w
Read more

Age And Ability ... In The Cognitive Era

Image
By Frances West, IBM Our parents and grandparents represent one of the most complex societal and economic challenges facing nations as they struggle with increasing costs of healthcare and decreasing numbers of caregivers. People aged 60 and older currently make up approximately 12 percent of the global population, and by 2050, that number will rise to almost 22 percent, according to the United Nations . The challenge then becomes helping the elderly easily adapt to a technology-driven world, prolong their independence, stay more connected with friends and family, and help manage life’s everyday decisions. As we enter the  cognitive era , we have an incredible opportunity to augment our ability to better understand — and make more informed decisions — about our health, wealth and our overall happiness. Cognitive computing is a fundamentally new way for individuals and organizations to gain knowledge by “hearing” the complexities of natural language, “reading” and analyzing
Read more