Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has resumed export operations at the Forcados Oil Export Terminal, where repair works on the pipeline have been going on for days.

SPDC spokeswoman Abimbola Essien-Nelson confirmed this on Friday.

SPDC had said the terminal would resume export operations by the end of October, when the ongoing repairs would have been completed.

Essen-Nelson was quoted to have said in a statement last week that in addition to the repairs, the company would remove and clamp theft points on the onshore pipelines to ensure full crude oil receipt at the terminal.

The Forcados export pipeline, which can export over 400,000 barrels of crude per day, was vandalised by crude oil thieves, hampering the functionality of the pipeline and transportation of crude oil through the pipeline to the export terminal.

The Forcados oil pipeline system is the second largest network in the Niger Delta. It transports oil, water and associated gas from fields in the western Delta to the Forcados oil terminal.

The Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP) is the major trunk line, which feeds multiple branches from onshore fields. At the Forcados River manifold, its capacity is 850,000 per day. Until 2012, the pipeline was operated by Shell.

According to Ms Essien-Nelson, the active illegal connections to SPDC joint venture’s production lines and facilities in the western Niger Delta and the inactive illegal connection to the onshore section of the Forcados export line are in the company’s ongoing programme.

She noted that the plan was to remove illegal connections on the pipelines that feed the terminal.

(NAN)