Eni, the parent company of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), has declared a Force Majeure on expected oil output at its Brass terminal in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, following a blast in one of its oil line facilities.
With the serious damage to the firm’s facility, it means Nigeria would be recording a shortfall of 25,000 barrels of crude oil and 13 million standard cubic metres of gas per day from the terminal.
A Force Majeure is a legal clause in contracts, which absolves firms from legal liabilities due to circumstances beyond their control.
The oil company on Monday stated: “An incident occurred on the Ogoda/Brass 24 oil line at Okparatubo in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa. The incident was caused by a blast, consequently causing a spill.
“All wells connected to that pipeline were immediately shut, whilst river booms and containment barges were mobilised to reduce the impact of the spill.
“Regulators for inspection visit and repair teams have also been activated. The Federal Government, Bayelsa and security authorities were notified.
“Force Majeure has been declared at Brass terminal, Bonny NLNG and Okpai Power Plant’”, Eni added
According to the E&P oil company, the blast which happened a few days ago, resulted from an attack on the facility and is the second attack on its facilities in the last three weeks.
The latest blast followed a similar incident occurred at Eni’s Obama flow station in the state on February 28 this year. The Obama mishap caused Nigeria a production shortfall of 5,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Meanwhile, the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency has confirmed that joint investigative visits on the two incidents had been conducted but that reports on the mishaps are being awaited from the field officers.
