By Julia Payne and Libby George
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!LONDON, May 21 – Nigeria’s Trans Forcados pipeline remains closed but no force majeure has been declared, a Shell spokeswoman said on Tuesday, after a fire broke out on Sunday.
The shutdown is a blow to the Forcados exports of roughly 240,000 barrels a day. Shell manages the crude export terminal, while Heritage Energy operates the pipeline.
A spokesman for Heritage said on Monday there was a fire near the pipeline on Sunday but did not say whether the pipeline itself was affected.
Heritage did not immediately respond to request for comment on Tuesday.
“The fire is still raging,” said Collins Edema, who lives near the site of the incident.
“The pipeline is long due for replacement and leaks from time to time. Repairs were going on there on a leaking portion when the fire broke out, burning the pipeline, the pumping machine and other equipment the contractors were using for repairs,” he said. (Reporting by Julia Payne; additional reporting by Libby George in Abuja, Tife Owolabi in Yenagoa and Anamesere Igboeroteonwu in Onitsha; writing by Paul Carsten; editing by Jason Neely and Louise Heavens)