Tag: Nigeria

50,000 barrels of oil leaked five days ago Shell Petroleum Production Co., or SNEPCo, on Sunday said the oil leak from its Bongo facility off the Nigerian coast has "largely been dispersed."About 40,000 barrels of oil leaked five days ago during a routine operation to transfer oil from Bonga's floating production, storage and offtake, or FPSO, vessel to an oil tanker.Tony Okonedo, SNEPCo's media relations officer, said in a statement that the company has confirmed the oil leak has "largely been dispersed and it will continue to monitor the area, including using satellite, and take appropriate steps to disperse any further persistent oil sheens."He said since the leak, teams from SNEPCo, an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSB), have worked "around the clock" with international oil spill experts, using a combination of dispersants and booms to tackle the leaked oil.Shell said it became aware of the leak on Tuesday at its Bonga field, about 120 kilometers off Nigeria. Production was reported to have stopped at the field, which has a capacity of 200,000 barrels a day.Okonedo didn't say when production will likely resume at the Bonga facility.Reacting in the statement to the news of the oil dispersal, Shell ...

Minister of Transport says Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar has expressed the readiness of private investors to invest in the maritime sector to the tune of 60 per cent equity.He also said that investors in the Greenfield port projects were even ready to construct what he described as "breakwaters" in their bid to ensure that the projects come on stream as early as practicable.He also stated that he was particularly happy that the Greenfield port projects in Lekki and Badagry (Lagos State) and Ibaka (Akwa Ibom State) were recording appreciable progress.A statement signed by the Assistant Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Transport, Mr. Abiodun Oladunjoye, quoted Umar as saying this at Dipcharima House, the corporate headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Abuja when the Senate Committee on Marine Transport led by its Chairman, Senator Zainab Kure paid him a courtesy call.According to Oladunjoye, who is an Assistant Director, Umar said he was happy that the Committee had visited some of the establishments and interacted with some of the stakeholders in the maritime sector to enable them understand the potentials, prospects and challenges in the highly lucrative sector.The minister expressed regret that the potentials in the ...

40,000 barrels of oil at sea The worst Nigeria offshore oil spill in more than a decade has been contained before reaching the West African nation's coast, officials with Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Monday, less than a week after one of its lines bled crude into the Atlantic Ocean.An investigation into how the spill of less than 40,000 barrels - or 1.68 million gallons - happened remains ongoing, though company officials acknowledged workers only discovered the leak after seeing a sheen of crude in water surrounding its Bonga offshore oil field.Meanwhile, Shell officials say the company will clean up another spill it discovered while containing its own - highlighting how prevalent pollution remains in oil-stained Nigeria after more than 50 years of production."We can undeniably say we traced our oil ... and stopped it," said Cliff Pain, who manages the Bonga operation for a Shell subsidiary.Shell organized a helicopter flight Monday for journalists to see the Bonga field - controlled from a large ship as opposed to a stationary rig - about 75 miles (120 kilometers) off Nigeria's coast. There, waters appeared free of the oil sheen as ships continued to patrol along the underwater lines linking the vessel ...

Spill occurred as workers tried to offload oil onto a tanker An oil spill near the coast of Nigeria is likely the worst to hit those waters in a decade, a government official said Thursday, as slicks from the Royal Dutch Shell PLC spill approached the country's southern shoreline.The slick from Shell's Bonga field has affected 115 miles (185 kilometers) of ocean near Nigeria's coast, Peter Idabor, who leads the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, told The Associated Press. Idabor said the slick continued to move toward the shore Thursday night, putting at risk birds, fish and other wildlife in the area.Shell, the major oil producer in Nigeria, said Wednesday the spill likely occurred as workers tried to offload oil onto a waiting tanker. The company published photographs of the spill, showing a telltale rainbow sheen in the ocean, but said it believes that about 50 percent of the leaked oil has already evaporated.The source of the leak has been plugged and experts from Britain were coming to help with the cleanup, Idabor said. Nigerian Navy ships also had been sent into the area to help control the spill, he said.Shell estimates the Bonga spill likely was less ...

Shell Oil Spill Off Nigeria Likely Worst

The expected reduction in cargo dwell time would automatically reduce the cost of doing business Maritime industry analysts say the proposed 24-hour port operations in Nigeria is a positive development which will free the ports of congestion, reduce cargo dwell- time and demurrage charges to the barest minimum, and increase ports' contribution to gross domestic product (GDP).The analysts contend that the development will enable quick turnaround at ports, stressing that the expected reduction in cargo dwell time would automatically reduce the cost of doing business in Nigerian ports, as importers and their agents would have to pay little or no demurrage charges.Boniface Aniebonam, founder, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) affirms that the 24- hour port operations, come with some economic benefits to Nigeria, pointing out that there would be huge returns on investment for importers, terminal operators and government.He added that this would create job opportunities for Nigerians, as more hands would be required by different government agencies involved in cargo clearance, to execute the 12-hour shifts needed for the new port operation scheme.For clearing agents and freight forwarders, whose job is to process documents through customs for importers and take delivery of cargo to importer's warehouses, ...

Pirates have kidnapped three people Gunmen stormed a ship supplying a Chevron Corp. offshore oil field, kidnapping three workers in an attack raising concerns over a possible unraveling amnesty deal in the crude-rich nation, authorities said Friday.The attack happened Thursday night near Chevrons massive Agbami oil field, operated by its Nigerian subsidiary about 70 nautical miles offshore from Bayelsa state in Nigerias oil-rich southern delta, officials said. Eight gunmen boarded the MV C-Endeavour, attacking the crew and taking the three sailors hostage, Chevron spokesman Kurt Glaubitz said.A private security official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as details about the kidnapping remained closely held, said those abducted were foreigners. Glaubitz declined to identify those kidnapped, citing the San Ramon, Calif.-based companys security rules.The safety of our employees and contractors is our first priority, Glaubitz said. Chevron Nigerian Ltd. is the assisting the service company to ensure the safe release of the kidnapped crew members.Glaubitz said the ship belonged to contractor Edison Chouest Offshore, based in Galliano, Louisiana. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.A Nigerian navy spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Foreign firms have pumped oil out ...

Nigeria and Benin launched joint sea patrols on September The Joint Military Task Force established by Nigeria and Benin to patrol the Gulf of Guinea has arrested eight suspected pirates, officials report. The Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogbor told Nigeria's Daily Sun that the pirates were arrested off the coast of Benin.Ogbor said that four of the detained pirates were handed over to Benin officials for prosecution while the other four have been handed over to Nigerian authorities."The presence of the Joint Task Force has deterred criminals within the waters and every thing within the area which hitherto had bothered that country has normalized. The good thing about this operation is that its not restricted to Beninois waters and they come out, they patrol up to Nigeria's territorial waters and go back, it does not extend to territories within the Benin Republic, it also extends to Nigeria," Ogbor said.Nigeria and Benin launched joint sea patrols on September 28. Around 100 military personnel from the two countries embarked on three patrol boats and four fast attack craft at the Cotonou's naval base. Operation Prosperity is designed to last six months.The joint patrols "are not aimed primarily ...

The latest attack on a tanker occurred last week 60 miles off Port Harcourt Although the world's focus is on the pirate attacks in the Somali Basin and Gulf of Aden attacks are still being recorded off West Africa, Nigeria in particular. There are significant differences between the two regions; Nigeria is a governed democracy and has one of the largest militaries on the African continent.The latest attack on a tanker occurred last week 60 miles off Port Harcourt where the Nigerian military presence is heaviest. The ship was hijacked and held until reportedly released on the 5 November 2011.Previously the Standard Club has warned of piracy attacks off West Africa and Nigeria in particular and previous advice has been to keep well offshore - over 50 miles has been given as a reasonable distance.However this would now appear to be insufficient and pirates are ranging further offshore and coastwise transiting ships should bear this in mind. Managers and owners should take precautions when trading in these areas and provide ships with appropriate advice and guidance.Source: The Standard P&I Club

Currently, piratesseized an oil tanker with over 20 crew on board off the coast of Nigeria Following the seizure of a Malta flagged vessel by pirates in Nigeria, the International Maritime Organisation, (IMO) has warned vessels owners on the danger of sailing to Nigeria.Confirming the development the influential International Maritime Bureau (IMB) stated, weekend, that gunmen boarded the Malta flagged tanker; MT Halifax as it sat in waters off the coast of Port Harcourt.According to security report, the pirates took over control of the ship and sailed off into the waters of the Gulf of Guinea, and are holding onto the crew as they offload the crude oil in the ship's hold.According to GAC, "communication was reportedly lost with the vessel around 1100 local time on 1 November in an area around 175NM south of Lagos, and 243 NM west of Port Harcourt. The vessel's last reported point of contact is near to where two vessels were boarded in October, one of which was successfully hijacked and held for five days before release."It remains unclear how many crew members were taken or if any have been injured. The Halifax, registered in Malta, is managed by Ancora Investment Trust Inc. of ...