An oil field in Nigeria has restarted production after being closed for more than seven years.

Eland Oil & Gas, with headquarters in Scotland, said it re-opened two existing wells this week, with output expected at 2,500 barrels of oil per day.

The crude oil produced will be delivered to the Shell Forcados export terminal via a pipeline, which will have the capacity to export up to 30,000 barrels a day.

The company estimates the Opuama field, which was initially in production between 1975 and 2006, contains 54.2 million barrels of recoverable oil.

Les Blair, CEO of Eland Oil & Gas said: “We look forward enthusiastically to the prospect of building on this pivotal turning point by materially increasing the daily production through the planned development drilling during 2014.”