Nigeria faces a 225,000 barrels per day crude oil output cut as Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited shuts down its Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel for scheduled turnaround maintenance.

The deepwater facility lies 120 kilometres offshore in water depths exceeding 1,000 metres.

It normally produces up to 225,000 barrels per day of oil and 150 million standard cubic feet of gas daily.

The Bonga FPSO accounts for roughly 15 per cent of Nigeria’s recent crude output levels.

The turnaround maintenance is expected to last approximately six weeks, with operations set to resume in March.

Cumulative lost production during this period could reach about 9.45 million barrels of crude oil and 6.3 billion standard cubic feet of gas.

This estimate is based on the facility’s full capacity over 42 days.

In 2025, Nigeria’s average crude oil production fluctuated between 1.4 and 1.6 million barrels per day.

Notable monthly figures included 1.642 million barrels per day in June, 1.614 million barrels per day in May, and around 1.5 million barrels per day by December.

The year-end performance reflected a recovery from earlier 1.4 million barrels per day averages, driven by efforts to curb theft and meet OPEC quotas.

The Bonga FPSO has historically contributed between 10 and 15 per cent to national output.

It played a key role in bolstering deepwater production that peaked after the 2022 maintenance and supported the 2025 production uptick.

The field had cumulatively delivered over one billion barrels by early 2023.

The statutory exercise aims to ensure safety, regulatory compliance, and a 15-year asset life extension.

It includes inspections, integrity upgrades, and modifications to support upcoming demands such as the Bonga North development.

“The scheduled maintenance activity is designed to ensure the FPSO continues to operate safely and efficiently for the next 15 years, while reducing unplanned deferments and strengthening the asset’s overall resilience,” said SNEPCo Managing Director, Ronald Adams.

“We expect to resume operations in March following the completion of the turnaround.”

The scope of work covers statutory inspections, certification and regulatory compliance checks, major asset-integrity upgrades, engineering modifications for long-term operations, and subsea assurance activities.

Maintaining the integrity of this critical national asset remains essential to supporting stable production and Nigeria’s wider energy, security, and revenue objectives.

This year’s turnaround occurs at a strategic moment for SNEPCo and its co-venture partners.

In 2024, the partners took Final Investment Decision on Bonga North, a subsea tie-back development that will rely on the enhanced reliability and capacity of the Bonga FPSO.

A successful turnaround maintenance is therefore vital to preparing the facility for additional volumes and operational demands from the new development.

The previous turnaround maintenance on the FPSO occurred in October 2022.

On February 1 the following year, the asset delivered 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.

The operation runs under a Production Sharing Contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.