U.S. supermajor ExxonMobil plans to invest as much as $1.5 billion in deepwater oil and gas exploration and development offshore Nigeria, the local regulator, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), has said.
Exxon sold last year its onshore assets to local firm Seplat Energy, but is committed to offshore exploration and development in the country.
At the end of 2024, Nigeria’s regulators finally approved – after two years – Seplat Energy’s proposed acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) from ExxonMobil.
Now the U.S. supermajor is committing to developing its offshore position in Nigeria.
Exxon plans the $1.5 billion investment between 2025 and 2027 for revitalizing production in the Usan deepwater oilfield, Nigeria’s NUPRC said.
The U.S. energy giant targets a final investment decision (FID) on the project for late in the third quarter of this year, subject to approval of its final Field Development Plan, as well as internal and partner funding approvals.
Shane Harris, ExxonMobil’s Managing Director in Nigeria, said that the planned capital investment reflects ExxonMobil’s confidence in Nigeria’s upstream potential and its dedication to playing a pivotal role in the country’s oil and gas production growth.
During a meeting with NUPRC chief executive Gbenga Komolafe this week, Harris also confirmed Exxon’s support for the regulator’s “Project 1 Million Barrels” initiative, which aims to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production to 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in the medium term.
Nigerian authorities have been clamping down on oil theft and have been supportive of an increase in oil and gas output in recent months.
The Nigerian government aims to boost the country’s oil production by 1 million bpd by December 2026, from the current 1.75 million bpd.
Oil theft and pipeline vandalism have long plagued Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas industry, driving majors out of the biggest OPEC producer in Africa and often resulting in force majeure at the key crude oil export terminals.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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