The Management of the Nigerian National petroleum Corporation, NNPC over the weekend took practical steps to avert imminent power blackout in the country with the evacuation of condensate from some Shell Petroleum operated facilities to the Warri Refinery to facilitate the production and supply of gas to the thermal power stations.

Last week, Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC reportedly raised a red flag on the power situation in the country claiming that it might be compelled to shut down its four gas plant in Utorogu, Ughelli, Oben and Sapele due to the non evacuation of  condensate from its plants.

 The issue of evacuation of condensate has remained intractable due to the damage of the vital SPDC operated Trans Forcados Pipeline system by incessant militant attacks. The alternative option of transferring condensate through the Ughelli Pump Station, UPS to WRPC is not only unsustainable but is fraught with operational, technical and safety concerns.

However, despite the odds, the NNPC in response to the impending national power crisis, on Friday commenced the evacuation of 140,000 barrels of condensate from Shell’s facility at Ughelli through Warri Refinery. Engr. Austen Oniwon, Group Executive Director, Refining and Petro-chemicals confirmed that two vessels were dedicated  through the weekend to evacuate the condensate from  WRPC tanks. He explained that this would give SPDC a breather of about three weeks within which additional measures can be taken to improve the situation in the medium term.

 "Our next proposal to more effectively manage the condensate in the medium term is for WRPC to take on cargo of Forcados blend which we learnt has an API of about 28. We can blend 100 per cent of SPDC’s condensate and still make it conform to the process in our plants. With these we can manage the condensate more efficiently and SPDC can operate its facilities on a more continuous basis," Engr. Oniwon explained.

The NNPC management would on Wednesday meet with top management and technical team of SPDC led by its Managing Director and Country Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu at the NNPC Towers, Abuja.

The parley which is being convened at the instance of the NNPC would undertake a review of facilities around the western axis to improve the flexibilities of operations and also create alternatives that will extensively address the vulnerability of the Trans Forcados Pipelines.

The meeting will also seek solution to the issue of persistent sour water management at Shell’s Ughelli facility (an effluent from the production process) which the WRPC has been grappling with after being laden with a `tankful’ from SPDC six months ago.