21st February, 2011
Shell’s Bonga deepwater oil field in Nigeria is to be shut this month for maintenance, a company spokesman said Monday, Dow Jones reports.
The field is located 120 kilometers offshore Nigeria and has a production capacity of 225,000 barrels a day.
It began operations in 2004 and hit first oil in 2005.
“We can confirm a maintenance shutdown is planned at Bonga in February,” Precious Okolobo said, adding that the company couldn’t “speculate on the duration of the shutdown.”
Okolobo added that Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Co., or SNEPCO, operator of Bonga, will carry out the maintenance.
A shut down at Bonga, one of Nigeria’s successful deepwater fields, will likely result in a reduction of Nigeria’s oil export figure, currently at over two million barrels, during the maintenance period.
Nigeria, which relies on oil export for over 90% of its foreign exchange earnings, will also likely receive lower oil revenue during the shutdown.