Nigeria crude oil output, yesterday, rose by 150,000 barrels per day as Shell Nigeria said it has reopened its Trans Niger Pipeline, TNP, after about two months of closure.
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The re-opening is also expected to boost the country's power supply by about 624 MW, as the company's Afam VI power was also shut down due to inadequate gas supply arising from the closure of the pipeline.
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A spokesperson for Shell said the pipeline was re-opened, September 8, adding, however, that the force majeure declared in April on benchmark Bonny Light crude oil grade remained in place.
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Shell had shut the TNP in July following a leak on the Bomu-Bonny section at Owokiri, which was found to be caused by a six-inch crude theft valve placed on the line.
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The shut-down came just days after Shell had re- opened the line following an explosion and fire in June at a point that had been targeted by oil thieves at Bodo West in the Niger Delta's Ogoniland.
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The Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, stated in July that it estimated the total daily loss from the TNP shutdown to be roughly $15 million.
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The closure of the line also hit Nigeria's domestic power generation, with SPDC being forced to shut down the Afam VI power plant due to a shortage of gas arising from the closure of the pipeline.