Shell, Eni declare force majeure on two large Nigerian oil flows

Shell, Eni declare force majeure on two large Nigerian oil flows

Shell and Eni both declared force majeure on key oil flows from Nigeria, threatening to disrupt supplies in a market that’s already fretting about the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Shell’s measure has been in place since March 3 and applies to its Bonny export program. Eni’s relates to Brass crude cargoes and follows a pipeline blast in the Bayelsa state. Force majeure is a legal step that allows companies not to meet contractual obligations for reasons that are out of their control.

Shipments of the two grades had been planned at a rate of 170,000 barrels a day next month but have been in a state of decline over the past few years, according to loading programs seen by Bloomberg. Flows back in 2020 were planned at about 320,000 barrels a day.