Oil and gas giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, SPDC, has shut down its gas plants at Sapele and Oben saying it was a temporary measure pending the re-commissioning of its vandalised Trans Forcados Pipeline, TFP.

SPDC Managing Director and Company Chair, Mutiu Sunmonu, said the TFP has now been repaired following numerous incidents of sabotage by militants fighting for larger share of oil resources in the restive Niger Delta.

"We deeply regret the inconvenience any temporary shutdown might cause but it is absolutely necessary that we repair damaged facilities and bring them to safe and normal operations as quickly as possible," Sunmonu said in a statement to the media. "We sincerely thank NNPC for their support in condensate handling in the past months."

Shell claims that recent incidents of sabotage to its facilities had left the TFP badly damaged as a result of which the company had been unable to evacuate the condensate sediments that were blocking its gas pipelines.

Following the damage to its gas pipelines, Shell had sought the assistance of its long-term business partner, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, which granted the Dutch giant use of its refinery in Warri for temporary storage and distribution of its gas to power plants in parts of the country.

But the NNPC withdrew its generosity earlier this week when its Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) resumed production after a protracted breakdown, saying it was not going to shut down its refining facilities simply because SPDC wanted to evacuate condensate deposits from the gas pipelines.

In a feeble attempt at fence-mending, Sunmonu said Shell was "most grateful for the understanding and responsiveness of NNPC."

Responding to recent media reports which suggested that Shell's failure to supply gas to power plants was hurting electricity supply in the country, Sunmonu re-affirmed that the company was "totally committed to supplying gas for power generation in Nigeria as had been the case for a very long time."

He said SPDC had delayed the shut down of its TFP facility in order to minimise the impact it would have on power generation and distribution across Nigeria which already boasts one of Africa's most atrocious power supply systems.

A fortnight ago Shell shut down its gas plant at Sapele and threatened to do same with its other three gas plants within six days unless the NNPC evacuated the concentration of wet condensate that had accumulated at the Warri Refinery which was put at 472,000 barrels.

Following the development which led to further drop in the country's power generation, Minister of Power, Lanre Babalola, if the situation did not change, the six thermal power stations in the country might also face the prospect of being shut down; which would mean more days of darkness for the country where majority of its population already.

Shell, the single biggest supplier of domestic gas pioneered gas supply to industries in Nigeria in the 1960s, and currently supplies over 75% of the domestic gas for power generation and other industries in Nigeria. Shell also owns and operates the 650MW-power plant at Afam, which represents over 20% of current national power supply.