The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has drawn a new blueprint to attain production targets in Nigeria, after cutting down production levels because of the persistent unrest in the oil-bearing communities in the Niger Delta.

Director of Production of the SPDC Mutiu Sunmonu in the latest edition of the Shell Bulletin made available here on Friday that the company "has drawn up an agenda to achieve improved production for the rest of the year and beyond."

He said the blueprint tagged "Production Must Win Battles (PMBs) " was aimed at achieving equipment reliability, pipeline optimization, additional oil output, stable operating environment and organizational ability.

"The five key areas to deliver improved production pose questions on virtually every segment of the business -- how can we get more from existing wells," he said.

"How can we ensure our equipment and facilities are working in top condition with less shutdowns and deferment, what are the short-term options to ensure our pipelines are ready to evacuate additional oil and how can we get over pipeline vandalism,?" Sunmonu asked.

"If we get these answers right, we will be able to deliver more value to all stakeholders -- staff, investors, communities and the Nigerian state as a whole," he added.

He said a training program aimed at achieving the production " must-win" battles had been slated to commence this month.

Because of "difficult situations" in the oil-rich Niger Delta, Shell has to declare force majeure, resulting in a loss of about 455,000 barrels per day in production targets.

On June 9, Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources ( DPR) Tony Chukwueke announced that Nigeria lost about 800,000 barrels per day as a result of fraudulent activities in the oil sector

Deputy Managing Director of Shell Mark Corner said the company had operated in a difficult situation in the first quarter of the year, with attacks on oil installations.

He lauded the workers of the company for showing understanding with the company, urging them to continue to work safely and to prepare for full steam work "when conditions allow the company to return to normal production activity."

Anglo-Dutch Shell and other oil majors have been contending with difficult situations in the oil-rich Niger Delta where militants have been disrupting oil production activities.

Nigeria is the largest oil produce in Africa or the sixth largest oil exporter in the world with a daily crude output of some 2.5 million bpd.

Source: Xinhua