A Nigerian official says production may resume shortly at Royal Dutch Shell's E.A. oilfield, which the company shut after militant attacks in February.
State Oil Minister Edmund Daukoru told an oil conference in Paris Friday that he believes the offshore field will be back on-line early next week.
The field normally produces 115,000 barrels of crude oil per day. World oil prices fell slightly following Daukoru's comments.
A series of kidnappings and attacks by militants have cut total Nigerian oil production by 25 percent since late last year.
The militants demand that the oil-producing Niger Delta region get a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo met with a cross-section of leaders from the region on Wednesday. Shell's production and exploration chief, Malcolm Brinded, said Friday he is optimistic that the company will be able to review its shut down facilities in Nigeria in the near future.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.