11 December 2012, Sweetcrude, Lagos – Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, MPN, said, Tuesday, it has lifted the ‘force majeure’ it declared on its Qua Iboe crude oil streams, following an oil spill incident from its operations on November 9.
Force majeure is a legal notice that absolves an oil firm of liabilities for failure to meet supply obligations to crude buyers due to circumstances beyond the firms control.
The oil firm had declared the notice to enable it carry out repairs on a section of its pipeline that caused the November 9 oil release.
A statement from Mr Paul Arinze, General Manager Public and Government Affairs in Mobil in Eket, Akwa Ibom State on Tuesday said that crude production has normalised.
“Mobil Producing Nigeria, operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC/MPN Joint Venture confirms that it has lifted the Force Majeure it declared on November 20.
“We express gratitude to all customers, purchasers and Joint Venture partner, the NNPC for their understanding during the production outage,” he said.
MPN, an affiliate of US oil field, ExxonMobil operates the Qua Iboe oil field off Akwa Ibom coastline where an oil spill from a ruptured pipeline discharged large volumes of crude which cause environmental discomfort.
Meanwhile, the oil firm has deployed over 600 personnel for the ongoing clean up of the crude deposits along the Atlantic coastline in Ibeno.