July 15, 2023 [Argus]- The company said injections into the terminal were “curtailed” on 12 July and that investigations are ongoing into the cause.

Shell did not confirm any effect on Forcados crude loadings, but cargo surveyor Intertek indicated on 13 July that loading operations were suspended as a result of a leak around the single buoy mooring (SBM) 1. Data from oil analytics Vortexa show the Suezmax tanker Cap Victor, initially scheduled to depart for Durban, South Africa, on 12 July, was awaiting instructions from terminal operators.

Exports of Forcados grade resumed at the end of October 2022 after a three-month halt to fix damage at the terminal. They were then temporarily halted again in November because of an oil sheen.

State-owned NNPC said crude receipts at the Forcados terminal averaged 261,000 b/d in June. They dipped to less than 141,000 bl on 6 July, following a shutdown at a pumping station the day before, according to an NNPC source, but this appeared to have been partially fixed by 8 July. A second source within NNPC said the company has yet to receive updates on the terminal’s SBM 2, which SPDC previously indicated was going to be commissioned between the end of March and the beginning of April.

Any disruptions to Forcados loading operations come at a time when seasonal summer demand for transport fuels in Europe makes distillate-rich grades such as Forcados particularly enticing to refiners. Exports of the grade are scheduled at 219,000 b/d this month and 234,000 b/d in August, according to loading programmes.

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