The parent company of Nigeria’s Agip Oil Company (NAOC), Eni, has announced that a force majeure at its Brass port in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, has been removed.
Force majeure is a provision in a contract that permits a corporation to skip out on contractual commitments due to circumstances beyond its control.
Eni reported on Monday that it has halted oil and gas shipments from its Brass export facility as a result of an explosion.
The incident, which happened on March 5, was caused by an assault on the facility, according to Eni.
The oil firm said on Tuesday that the Ogoda/Brass 24 oil pipeline in Okparatubo had been repaired.
Eni stated in a statement released to TheCable on Friday that the pipeline had been repaired and that the port could now operate at full capacity.
“Force majeure has been lifted at Brass terminal, Bonny NLNG, and Okpai Power Plant today, following the restoration of the Ogoda/Brass 24′′ oil pipeline at Okparatubo (Nembe Local Government Area, Bayelsa State), which was hit by blast on March 5 caused by third-party interference,” the statement reads.
The high rate of pipeline vandalisation and illegal oil bunkering continue to erode oil gains for Nigeria.
Earlier in the month, oil producers had lamented the negative impact of illegal oil bunkering on its activities and asked the federal government to ensure maximum security at facilities.
On Thursday, Tony Elumelu, chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, also decried the quantity of crude oil lost to oil theft.
“Businesses are suffering. How can we be losing over 95% of oil production to thieves,” he had said.
Amid dwindling production capacity, Nigeria’s oil production dropped in February to an average of 1.25 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.39 million the previous month.