Shell to lose 35,000b/d oil for 3-months over attacks

Royal Dutch Shell says its oil production in Nigeria will fall by 35,000 barrels per day in the third quarter of 2016 due to sabotage incidents and scheduled repairs.

Shell, Nigeria’s oldest energy company, stated this in its second quarter 2016 financial results, warning that its earnings could be further impacted if the situation deteriorates.

“A further erosion of the business and operating environment in Nigeria could have a material adverse effect on us,” the company said.

Attacks by Niger Delta Avengers on facilities operated by Shell have affected the company and Nigeria’s oil exports.

Shell’s 250,000 barrels a day giant underwater Forcados 48inch pipeline had been shut since February after an attack.

It, however, lifted a force majeure on exports of Bonny Light crude, early in July after nearly two months it suspended exports of the crude oil grade following a leak on a pipeline that conveys the crude.

The oil major’s second quarter profit fell by 72 percent in what it blamed on weak oil prices and costs related to its $54 billion takeover of BG Group.

Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden, said “Lower oil prices continue to be a significant challenge across the business, particularly in the upstream,”

Despite the disappointing performance Shell said new field start-ups and the continuing ramp-up of existing fields, in particular the Erha North ph2 in Nigeria, contributed some 53,000 boe/d to production compared with the second quarter 2015.