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MADRID -(Dow Jones)- Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) (CVX) Tuesday said oil production is set to restart shortly at its Escravos facility in Nigeria attacked by militants more than a week ago and said it had taken increased security measures at a new Nigerian offshore oil project that will start production in the coming days.
"Pipeline repairs are ongoing and we expect production to restart within a few days,"
The U.S. oil major declared force majeure at Escravos on June 24 because of the attack, which slashed output by 120,000 barrels a day at Escravos, saying production losses would delay some cargo shipments. The move provides legal protection for a company unable to meet its contractual obligations due to events outside its control that disrupt operations.
Ali Moshiri, Chevron's exploration president for Africa and Latin America, said Chevron had taken security precautions ahead of the start-up of the company's $5.4 billion offshore Agbami oil field project amid an increased threat of offshore militant attacks.
"We have put measures in place ... We hope nothing happens, but we will be prepared in case it does," he said, without elaborating.
Agbami, about 70 miles offshore, will start production in a few weeks and eventually reach a peak target of 250,000 oil-equivalent barrels a day after several months, he said.
Despite past contract problems in Venezuela, Chevron was looking to increase its position in South America's biggest oil producing country, but Moshiri said the economics of any future projects have to work both for Chevron and Venezuela.
"You can't turn your back on these resources," Moshiri said about Venezuela's big heavy oil reserves, which were among the biggest in the world.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires 07-01-08 1120 Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.