Nigeria’s crude oil output has dropped by about 225,000 barrels per day following the commencement of a major maintenance programme on Shell’s Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, one of the country’s largest deepwater assets.
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) said the scheduled turnaround maintenance is aimed at extending the operational life of the Bonga FPSO by 15 years and improving long-term safety and efficiency.
“The maintenance is designed to ensure the FPSO continues to operate safely and efficiently for the next 15 years, while reducing unplanned production deferments and strengthening the asset’s resilience,” said Ronald Adams, Managing Director of SNEPCo.
He added that production is expected to resume in March 2026, following the completion of the works.
The maintenance scope includes statutory inspections, regulatory certification, integrity upgrades, engineering modifications, and subsea assurance activities intended to support sustained offshore operations.
Located about 120 kilometres offshore in water depths of over 1,000 metres, the Bonga FPSO has a capacity to produce 225,000 barrels of oil per day and 150 million standard cubic feet of gas daily, making it a critical contributor to Nigeria’s oil revenues and energy security.
The timing of the shutdown is significant, coming after joint venture partners approved a final investment decision (FID) in 2024 on Bonga North. This subsea tie-back project will depend on the FPSO’s processing capacity. Completion of the current maintenance is considered vital to preparing the facility for the additional production load.
The Bonga FPSO last underwent turnaround maintenance in October 2022 and reached a major milestone in February 2023, delivering its one billionth barrel of oil since production began in 2005.
SNEPCo operates the Bonga field under a production sharing contract with NNPC Limited, alongside partners Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited.
