ExxonMobil has announced a force majeure on Nigeria’s Qua Iboe crude oil production, due to a fire incident that reportedly killed a worker and injured others.
This was disclosed in a statement by a spokesman of the company, reported by Reuters.
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Exxon did not reveal how much was lost to the fire incident at the Qua Iboe Terminal, and also did not indicate when exactly production will resume. However, the oil firm said that it never anticipated an impact on its operations at Qua Iboe.
An insider revealed to Reuters that the company expects operations to resume at the terminal in January 2021.
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What they are saying
The company disclosed last week that,
- “On Dec. 13, Mobil Producing Nigeria experienced a fire at the process area of the Qua Iboe Terminal. Two employees were injured, one has passed in the course of receiving medical treatment… We are saddened by this unfortunate incident, and are providing support to the family.”
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What you should know
- The Qua Iboe crude oil is produced from numerous offshore fields in the Bight of Biafra. The crude from fields 20 to 40 miles offshore from Nigeria’s South Eastern region, are brought to shore via a sea bed pipeline system to the Qua Iboe terminal.
- The Qua Iboe Terminal is located on the eastern side of the Qua Iboe river estuary and contains nine crude oil storage tanks with a total capacity of 4.5 million bbls.
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For over 50 years now that part of the Atlantic Ocean was re-named the Bight of Benin. It used to be the Bight of Biafra before the civil war.
Qua Iboe Terminal is in Akwa Ibom State and so it is in the South South (Niger Delta) Region and not in the South Eastern Region.
so sad, it is of best interest if the company can engage their disengaged contractors that was dropped due to the pandemic earlier this year as this will go a long way to mitigate such incidence to occur. This is where division and specialization of labour comes into place. Few work force leads to accident.If their monthly salary is high it should be cut down so as to increase the work force personnel on site.