SPDC’s 170,000 bpd oil production vessel shut due to water leakage

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

A Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) off the Bayelsa coastline have been shut due to water leakage into the facility.

Technical data available on the facility indicates the FPSO can store up to 1.4 million barrels of processed crude.

The vessel was christened Sea Eagle and deployed to shallow waters of 25 meters depth has a production capacity of 170,000 barrels per day of crude.

Although sources at SPDC’s EA fields claimed that the facility was shut down over labour disputes, the oil firm attributed the production disruption to leakage.

A statement by Mr Michael Adande, an SPDC Spokesman on Thursday said that the vessel has been safely anchored while efforts are underway to fix the leak.

“On Sunday, 24 July 2022, our Offshore crew on board the Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel, Sea Eagle, reported a water inflow in the hull of the vessel. The FPSO is anchored in shallow waters.

“The water inflow did not affect the section of the FPSO where any crude is stored.

“Our Emergency Response Team has been activated to respond to the incident and technical Measures to contain the water inflow have been adopted successfully.

Relevant authorities were notified and repair works are ongoing.” SPDC stated.