Gas Supply: Agip Lifts Force Majeure, Raises Production

Eni, the parent company of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), has said that it has lifted a force majeure on gas export feed to Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
Force majeure is a clause that allows a company to skip contractual obligations following issues beyond its control.
The company said it would start ramping up production after repairs on a 4-inch gas line which was vandalised on April 5 at Okaka in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The gas leakage had led to a shortfall of gas export feed to NLNG by five million standard cubic meters per day (MMSCM/d) following an attack on the Ogbainbiri to Obiafu/Obrikom gas pipeline at Okaka.
In a statement, last weekend, the Italian energy firm disclosed that normalcy had returned to its gas export operations.
“Force majeure was lifted at Bonny NLNG on April 13. It was declared on April 6,” it said.
Eni said the leak was the second hacksaw cut in the area in a few days, following a previous event on the same pipeline on March 28.
“All wells conferring in that pipeline was immediately shut-in and line depressurised whilst the area was cordoned off for safety reasons,” Eni had said.
Director-General and Chief Executive of the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Idris Musa, had noted that the investigations traced the incidents to sabotage by vandals.