Page 6 - AfrOil Week 38 2022

AfrOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT AfrOil

SPDC close to agreement that will

let tests of key oil pipeline resume

NIGERIA SHELL Petroleum Development Co. (SPDC) know that the line has not conveyed significant
is close to resolving the challenges that have oil in more than two months,” he noted. “So if
prevented it from resuming the testing of the it is established that a spill did occur, we expect
Trans-Niger Pipeline (TNP), its main crude oil that any impact of the spill would be minimal.”
transportation link, which has been idle for the His statements were echoed by Michael
last two months, Vanguard reported on Septem- Adande, a spokesman for the joint venture.
ber 16. Adande was quoted by Vanguard as saying on
The newspaper explained that the joint ven- September 16 that SPDC had joined forces with
ture had been forced to postpone its testing pro- the relevant stakeholders to gain access to the
gramme because of difficulty accessing sections sites where incidents had been reported along
of the TNP that had been targeted by oil thieves the TNP route. Securing access to these loca-
or that were vulnerable to sabotage and theft. It tions will allow government officials to investi-
then cited an authoritative source as saying that gate reports of spills and SPDC to launch repair
SPDC was coming closer to settling some of the work so that tests can resume, he stated.
disputes with the Bodo community in Rivers TNP was built to carry crude oil from the
state that had contributed to this lack of access. Nun River fields to the Bonny terminal and has a
The joint venture is working toward an agree- design capacity of 180,000 barrels per day (bpd).
ment that will permit both SPDC representa- It has been in operation since 1965. ™
tives and government officials to inspect sites
where oil spills are alleged to have occurred, the
source said. “The resolution will allow regulators
and SPDC access any troubled sections of the
TNP in the community for investigation and
necessary repairs,” he stated.
The Bodo community has imposed certain
conditions on access, the source added, without
elaborating. “Some people prevented the com-
pany and regulators from accessing the site of
the alleged spills, but I can tell you that the access
challenge is being resolved such that the regula-
tor and SPDC will be allowed to visit the site any
moment,” he commented.
The source went on to say that SPDC did not
expect to find evidence of any significant leaks
from the pipeline. “We know the SPDC joint
venture’s TNP is not formally shut, but we also SPDC’s Trans-Niger Pipeline has been idle for two months (Photo: Shell Nigeria)

INVESTMENT
ReconAfrica on track to acquire 50% of

NAMCOR’s stake in Kavango basin block

NAMIBIA CANADA’S Reconnaissance Africa (ReconAf- of Namibia (NAMCOR).
rica) said on September 22 that it had arranged ReconAfrica said it expected the transac-
to raise its stake in PEL 73, a block in the tion to be finalised by the end of 2022, subject
Kavango basin in north-eastern Namibia, by to the approval of the relevant regulatory bod-
acquiring half of the 10% working interest now ies, including Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and
owned by its partner, National Petroleum Corp. Energy and the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV).

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 38 22•September•2022