ExxonMobil pledges 40,000b/d additional oil production in Nigeria

   …To add nearly 40,000b/d to country’s output

Abuja — Exxon Mobil Corp has pledged to grow its production in Nigeria and expand its deepwater production as well, a Nigerian presidential spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday, citing ExxonMobil’s president of global upstream operations, Liam Mallon.

The statement, quoting Mallon, said the US oil giant would be adding oil production of nearly 40,000 barrels per day in Nigeria in a new investment push in the country.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu held talks with Mallon in New York on Monday, ahead of the U.N. General Assembly, in a drive to attract global capital to Africa’s largest economy, presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said in the statement.

Ngelale said the president made his position known that Nigeria is no longer settling for crumbs and leftovers on the investment agenda of the world’s most prolific energy conglomerates.

ExxonMobil has “made significant progress” in Nigeria, the statement quoted Mallon as saying.

“We are growing our production, and we are working hard on expanding in the deepwater production,” he said.

An Exxon spokesperson confirmed talks with the Nigerian president but declined to give further details, according to Reuters.

The statement by the Nigerian presidential spokesperson partly read: “President Tinubu said that, following an illustrious private sector career as a professional accountant in the oil & gas industry, he has proven his capacity to take difficult decisions as President,” Ngelale said.

“He also said that he is best prepared to solve problems and crush all bottlenecks standing in the way of new and large-scale capital flowing into Nigeria’s oil & gas industry.

“The knotty issues require direct supervision on my part. Despite many contending obligations, I will sit down and oversee the process of removing these encumbrances to job and wealth creation for the Nigerian people.

“We know the industry. We grew up in it. We are positioned to solve the problems, and we are pragmatic, and we will solve the problem”. .

Nigeria’s state oil firm NNPC Ltd. runs joint ventures and offshore production-sharing contracts with oil majors, including ExxonMobil that pump more than 80% of the country’s oil.

Nigeria’s oil and condensates output rose to 1.67 million barrels per day, from just under a million some months ago, due to security improvements in its oil-rich Niger River delta region.

But Africa’s largest oil producer is still grappling with challenges in its oil industry, including large-scale theft and sabotage, despite passing an historic oil bill into law two years ago to ease regulatory uncertainties and attract investments.