Chika Amanze-Nwachuku With Agency Report
12 November 2009
Lagos — The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) announced resumption of crude oil production at its 115,000 barrels per day (bpd) East Area (EA) oilfield.
The oilfield was shut down in 2006 following a series of attacks on the facility and abduction of oil workers, but was reopened in July this year.
The facility was again shut down on September 7 for repairs, but was reopened on November 8.
A Shell spokeswoman, Caroline Wittgen, confirmed the resumption of production at the facility to Reuters, saying: "We can confirm production from the EA oilfield has resumed on November 8 and is ramping up".
However, another Shell source who also confirmed the resumption did not disclose how much oil the field was producing currently.
The EA platform located in Ekeremor Local Government of the state which was shut in on February 18, 2006 was one of the first targets of the Movement of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).
MEND had during the February 2006 wave of attacks set a crude oil export tanker ablaze, blew up two oil pipelines and also kidnapped nine oil workers - three Americans, two Egyptians, two Thais, one Briton and one Filipino - from a boat belonging to the United States oil services firm, Willbros.
The wave of attacks on oil facilities in the area forced Shell, Chevron and Agip to cut oil production.
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