Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited has begun a major turnaround maintenance programme on the Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel, temporarily shutting down operations on the offshore facility.
The company said the maintenance exercise is a statutory safety and integrity programme aimed at extending the lifespan of the FPSO and improving its long-term performance. Operations on the vessel are expected to resume in March after the work is completed.
According to SNEPCo Managing Director, Ronald Adams, the scheduled maintenance is designed to ensure the FPSO continues to operate safely and efficiently for at least the next 15 years. He noted that the exercise would also help reduce unplanned production disruptions and strengthen the overall resilience of the asset.
Shell explained that the scope of work includes statutory inspections, certification and regulatory compliance checks, as well as major asset integrity upgrades. Engineering modifications and subsea assurance activities are also being carried out to support sustained long-term operations.
The Bonga FPSO is located about 120 kilometres offshore in water depths exceeding 1,000 metres. The facility has the capacity to produce up to 225,000 barrels of oil per day and 150 million standard cubic feet of gas daily, making it one of Nigeria’s most important deepwater production assets.
The company said the timing of the turnaround maintenance is strategic, coming after SNEPCo and its partners took a final investment decision in 2024 on the Bonga North project. The subsea tie-back development is expected to rely heavily on the reliability and enhanced capacity of the Bonga FPSO to handle additional production volumes.
Shell also disclosed that the last turnaround maintenance on the FPSO was carried out in October 2022. In February 2023, the asset reached a major milestone by delivering its one-billionth barrel of oil since production began in 2005.
SNEPCo operates the Bonga field in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited under a production sharing contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. The company did not specify how the ongoing maintenance would affect Nigeria’s daily oil output.
