ABUJA/LAGOS — Nigeria’s crude oil exports are expected to fall by about 225,000 barrels per day in February after Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) shut down the Bonga FPSO for scheduled turnaround maintenance, the company said on Sunday. Gas output will also decline by around 150 million standard cubic feet per day during the maintenance window, according to figures cited by the News Agency of Nigeria.
SNEPCo said the maintenance is a statutory integrity assurance programme intended to extend the facility’s operating life and reduce unplanned outages. Managing Director Ronald Adams said the scope covers inspections and recertification, regulatory checks, integrity upgrades, engineering modifications and subsea assurance work, with operations expected to resume in March once the turnaround is completed.
The Bonga facility — located about 120 kilometres offshore in more than 1,000 metres of water — has nameplate capacity to produce 225,000 bpd of oil and 150 million scf/day of gas, making it one of Nigeria’s most important deepwater assets.
Adams said the turnaround is particularly significant following Shell’s Final Investment Decision on Bonga North in December 2024, a subsea tie-back designed to send additional volumes to the Bonga FPSO later in the decade, increasing the premium on reliability at the host facility.
SNEPCo operates Bonga under a production sharing contract with NNPC Ltd alongside partners including Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), according to the company statement and industry reporting.
