Nigeria’s oil
output dips by 225,000 bpd as Bonga offshore oilfield is shut for maintenance
Nigeria’s oil output was at the weekend cut by about
225,000 barrels per day following a major overhaul at the Bonga oilfields.
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited
(SNEPCo) has begun the turnaround maintenance at Bonga, executing statutory
activities that will ensure continuous optimum operations at the deep-water
field which began producing in November 2005.
Mr Precious Okolobo, the company’s media relations manager,
said in a statement on Monday that the
production from the field was shut down on March 4, and expected to resume at
the conclusion of the exercise in April.
Mr Bayo Ojulari, Managing Director, SNEPco, was quoted in
the statement as saying that this was the fourth maintenance since Bonga began
production.
According to him, the exercise will help ensure sustained
production and reduce unscheduled production deferments.
“ For the Bonga team, this is another opportunity to
excel, having won the ‘Asset of the Year’ Award 2016 in the Shell Group,
followed by runners-up in Norway and Malaysia.
“We are pleased that the award recognised the continuing
collaboration towards optimum production with a focus on safety, cost and
Nigerian content development which will be invaluable in the maintenance
work,’’ he said.
He said that the turnaround maintenance involved
inspections, recertification, testing and repair of equipment as well as
engineering upgrades with Nigerian companies and subsea professionals playing
key roles.
The SNEPco boss said that a major focus was the Bonga
floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, at the heart of
Bonga operations.
The Bonga FPSO has the capacity to produce 225,000
barrels of oil and 150 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
“It is Nigeria’s
first deep-water development in depths of more than 1,000 metres, and is
located 120 kilometres offshore Nigeria.
“ SNEPCo expanded the project with further drilling of
wells in Bonga Phases 2 and 3 and through a subsea tie-back that unlocked the
nearby Bonga North West field in August 2014.
Bonga Phase 3 achieved first oil in October 2015.
“SNEPCo operates Bonga in partnership with Esso
Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deep Water) Limited; Total E&P Nigeria
Limited; and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited under a Production Sharing
Contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),’’ he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment