On Wednesday, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) announced the resumption of oil exports from the Bonny crude oil export terminal.

The resumption from the facility follows the lifting of force majeure on oil exports due to a blast on a pipeline feeding the terminal on March 3, 2022.

Force majeure is a legal clause inserted in contracts to shield companies from liabilities in meeting contractual obligations due to circumstances beyond their control.

An explosion near the Trans Niger Pipeline, which evacuates crude from oilfields in parts of Rivers and Bayelsa, on March 3 killed 12 suspected oil thieves.

SPDC announced the lifting of the force majeure on its oil cargo from the 1.25 million barrels per day terminal in a statement issued by its spokeswoman Bola Essien-Nelson

“The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), operator of the SPDC joint venture, has lifted the force majeure on Bonny export programme with effect from Wednesday, March 15, 2023. The force majeure was declared on March 3, 2022, following a significant decline in crude receipts at the Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal,” the oil firm stated.