Shell’s Nigeria subsidiary lifted a force majeure on crude oil exports, as suezmax tanker rates out of West Africa maintain their momentum after falling to year-to-date lows in August.
Shell Petroleum Development Co of Nigeria (SPDC) said in a statement that “SPDC lifted the force majeure on Bonny Light exports” as of Tuesday. The Bonny Light export terminal pumps out about 200,000 barrels per day.
Bonny Light exports had been halted since 12 August, and also faced similar disruptions in May and June due to continued sabotage in the Niger Delta region. But Nigeria’s government signalled earlier this month that it will engage in more discussions with the region’s guerrilla groups, which have been blamed for reducing Nigeria’s crude oil output by nearly 1 million barrels per day.
Decreasing cargo volume from Africa’s largest crude exporter have slammed rates for suezmax tankers this year. The Baltic Exchange’s assessment for tanker rates on the West Africa-to-Europe route hit a two-year low of $2,256 per day last month. But the rate has since rebounded to just over $9,300 per day.
Arctic Securities analyst Erik Stavseth says the resumption of Bonny Light exports, combined with seasonal strengthening, should help rates going into the next quarter.
“The volatility and softness in Nigerian exports has crucially effected suezmax rates, and we believe the return of Bonny Light crude out of the key Atlantic Basin exporter should contribute to a rebound in tanker rates heading into what is historically by far the strongest tanker quarter,” Stavseth wrote in a report today.
Nigeria loaded about 1.5 million barrels per day of crude oil last month, which was a slight gain from July, according to data from tanker tracking firm ClipperData.
For Nigeria to recover its former place in crude exports, it will require other crude streams to come back online. SPDC has yet to resume exports from the Forcados terminal. ExxonMobil has only seen sporadic exports from its Qua Iboe export terminal after a force majeure was declared at that facility back in July.
