Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) Thursday said that 195,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day remained shut-in in Nigeria due to the security situation mainly in the WesternNiger Delta.
The oil major wasn’t able to provide a firm date for a return to full production, nor the rate of ramp-up to full production. The 195,000 barrels a day corresponds to Shell’s share of oil production in Nigeria.
Jason Kenney, an oil analyst at investment bank ING Group said: “Shell already guided that it would be at that level” and likely to remain at that level for the rest of the year until 2008.
The Nigerian shut-in figures were reported during Shell’s second quarter results for the three months ending June 30, 2007.
Attacks by Niger Delta militants have led to a shut-in of 475,000 barrels a day of oil capacity operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Co. since February 2006.
Shell, through its 30% interest in the SPDC joint venture, is the largest foreign oil operator in Nigeria.
But on July 12, Shell said that between 1% and 3% of the Forcados oil terminal’s 380,000 barrels of crude a day capacity had been restored.
A Shell spokeswoman also said Monday that part of a 36,000 barrels-a-day field next to the Forcados terminal has been restarted but force majeure on exports from the field remains in place.
Shell said its second quarter production fell 2.3% to 3,178 thousand barrels of oil equivalent a day compared with 3,253 thousand barrels of oil equivalent a day a year ago, partly due to lower demand in North West Europe as a consequence of the continued warm weather and lower Nigerian oil production due to security concerns.
Total crude oil production, including output from the oil sands, was up 1% and total natural gas production was down 6% when compared with the second quarter 2006, Shell said.
Separately, the oil major said its liquefied natural gas equity sales volumes were 14% higher in the second quarter at 3.25 million metric tons compared to the same quarter a year ago due to increased feedgas supply at its Nigeria LNG venture, in which Shell owns a 26% interest.
Jul272007