Nigerian independent producer Heirs Oil & Gas Ltd. plans to restore an oil block acquired from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to its former output levels to make it one of the country’s biggest local operators. Heirs finalized last month its purchase of an operating stake in a permit known as Oil Mining Lease 17 in a deal worth more than $1 billion. The transaction is the latest in which Nigerian firms have bought onshore or shallow offshore licenses from international oil majors that are reducing their exposure to risks associated with community relations and increasingly focused on developing deep offshore acreage. “Our focus is to try to take this asset back to its peak production levels within a reasonable timeframe,” Heirs Chief Financial Officer Samuel Nwanze said in an interview. While Shell once pumped more than 100,000 barrels a day from OML 17, the block’s current output is less than 30,000, he said.