Nigeria’s Trans Forcados pipeline, which feeds Shell’s 400,000b/d export terminal and was shut down for most of 2016, is likely to be reopened around the end of the second quarter of 2017, according to Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc’s CEO, Austin Avuru, This Day reported.

Trans Forcados, the country’s major export pipeline, owned by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), was hit by several militant attacks, the first on a subsea section in February 2016. Although it reopened briefly later in the year after months of repairs, there were further attacks on the facility, leading prolonged closure of the pipeline, News Flash informed.

In November 2016, the facility suffered three additional attacks in one week, which came two days after Trans Forcados had resumed operations following a July attack.

Seplat, a Nigerian oil and gas exploration company that is listed on the London and Lagos stock exchanges, has a typical production of 75,000b/d, which is exported either via the Forcados export terminal to the Warri refinery.

Companies that were hit by the attacks included Shell, Seplat, Shoreline Resources Limited, Neconde, First Hydrocarbon Nigeria (FHN), and NPDC.