(Ecofin Agency) - In Nigeria, Anglo-Dutch oil firm Shell is testing the Trans Forcados crude export pipeline to restart activities at the infrastructure, sources told Reuters on May 9.

According the sources, the Astro Perseus tanker is expected to load the first cargo by the weekend. However, the loading will not take place until tests are not fully completed.

Let’s recall that since the pipeline was bombed in February 2016 by militants, it was shut down. It was however re-opened in October after repairs, but once more shut down due to another attack the following month.

Trans Forcados when fully operational used to produce between 200,000 and 240,000 barrels of crude a day. The pipeline’s re-opening should help the government achieve its production target for this year, knowingly 2.2 million barrels per day.