Bonga FPSO Maintenance To Cut Nigeria’s Oil Exports
Nigeria’s crude oil exports are set to decline by about 225,000 barrels per day in February following the shutdown of the Bonga Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel for scheduled turnaround maintenance.
Gas output will also fall by an estimated 150 million standard cubic feet per day during the maintenance period, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd. (SNEPCo) confirmed the development in a statement issued on Sunday, saying the maintenance programme had commenced on the Bonga FPSO.
SNEPCo’s Communications Manager, Gladys Afam-Anadu, described the exercise as a statutory integrity assurance programme aimed at extending the operational lifespan of the facility.
Managing Director of SNEPCo, Ronald Adams, said the maintenance would enable safe and efficient operations for another 15 years.
“The scheduled maintenance is designed to reduce unplanned deferments and strengthen the asset’s overall resilience,” Adams said, adding that production is expected to resume in March after completion of the turnaround.
He said the scope of work includes inspections, certifications, regulatory checks, integrity upgrades, engineering modifications and subsea assurance activities.
Located about 120 kilometres offshore in water depths exceeding 1,000 metres, the Bonga FPSO has a production capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil per day and 150 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
Adams noted that maintaining the facility is critical to Nigeria’s production stability, energy security and revenue targets, especially following the 2024 Final Investment Decision on the Bonga North project.
According to him, the turnaround will prepare the FPSO to handle additional volumes from the Bonga North subsea tie-back development.
The last turnaround maintenance on the Bonga FPSO was carried out in October 2022. On February 1, 2023, the asset produced its one-billionth barrel since operations began in 2005.
SNEPCo operates the Bonga field alongside Esso and Nigerian Agip under a production sharing contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.).
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