Nigeria’s crude oil production has dropped by 127,000 barrels per day from about 2.3 million bpd following the declaration of force majeure on Usan crude by the oil major, Total Plc.
The force majeure, Total said in a statement made available to Reuters, was expected to affect 127,000bpd of Usan crude expected to be exported in June.
A force majeure exempts parties to a contract from their obligations due to circumstances beyond their control.
Total confirmed that production was completely halted, but said there was no further information on the outage, or how long it was likely to last at this stage.
The oil major declared that four cargoes of Usan, which represent around 127,000bpd due to be exported in June, would be shut in.
Usan is an offshore field, and so, is not subject to theft like Brass River or Bonny Light grades of crude oil.
The force majeure for Usan adds to those on Royal Dutch Shell’s Bonny Light and Eni’s Brass River.
The Acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Ms. Tumini Green, who lamented the development, said there had been a significant drop in crude oil production for the first quarter of 2013.
She attributed the situation to incessant crude oil theft and vandalism along major pipelines in the Niger Delta.
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