Nigerian independent oil producer Belemaoil Producing Ltd. has resumed operations at its Oil Mining Lease 55 (OML 55) after a three-year shutdown, according to Reuters.

Belemaoil acquired OML 55 from Chevron Corp in February 2015, and the block is situated approximately 40 km west of the Bonny oil export terminal in a swamp to shallow water area.

Operations at OML 55 were halted in 2021 due to rampant oil theft from its delivery line to the Bonny terminal.

The resumption of operations was marked by the arrival of the first floating oil storage vessel at OML 55 on October 6, which the company described as “a major milestone in the company’s efforts to restart production.”

The block contains five oilfields with a production capacity of around 14,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) and more than 70 million standard cubic feet per day (mscf/d) of gas.

Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, is trying to boost crude output which has fallen in recent years due to large-scale theft and sabotage that have forced oil majors to exit onshore drilling to focus on deepwater production.