Shell seeks to restart Nigeria oilfield soon

Paris: Royal Dutch Shell hopes to restart the smallest of its Nigerian oilfields soon, the firm's exploration and production chief said yesterday, almost two months after rebels halted a quarter of Nigerian output.

"We have got to go and review the assets (of the EA field) when the security situation allows but I am hopeful that will be soon," Malcolm Brinded told reporters at an oil conference.

Nigeria's biggest foreign operator Shell pulled out of parts of the Niger delta in February after rebels launched a new wave of attacks against oil installations and took foreign workers hostage. They say they want access to Nigeria's oil wealth.

The loss of around 500,000 barrels per day of high quality Nigerian oil most of it pumped by Shell has contributed to a rally in the oil price towards its $70 a barrel record high.

Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum Edmund Daukoru, said he was optimistic the roughly 120,000 bpd offshore EA field would be back by the beginning of this week.

threats

Militants warn

workers not to return

Militants whose attacks have shut a quarter of Nigerian oil output threatened yesterday to execute anyone found on previously attacked oil platforms operated by Royal Dutch Shell.

"They must be basing their actions on some intelligence or probably an assurance by the Nigerian military," the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said in an email to Reuters.

"Anyone found on Shell platforms previously attacked will be executed."

Reuters