Tullow declared force majeure on two cargoes of Ghana’s Jubilee crude oil after an issue on the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility that exports the oil.
The company said it declared force majeure late last week after a problem with a turret bearing.
“We have deferred two liftings at Jubilee while we implement new operating procedures for off-take from the FPSO,” the company said in a statement.
The issue comes just before a two-week planned maintenance on the FPSO due to begin on March 20. Oil and gas production will continue until the planned shutdown begins, and the company said it will begin exports again towards the end of the shutdown and issue a new loading schedule near the end of the month.
Tullow said the maintenance would not impact its 2016 production guidance.
Force Majeure is a common clause in contracts that essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, strike, riot, crime, or an event described by the legal term act of God (such as hurricane, flooding, earthquake, volcanic eruption, etc.), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the contract. In practice, most force majeure clauses do not excuse a party’s non-performance entirely, but only suspend it for the duration of the force majeure
(Reuters)
