Miami: ExxonMobil said it is excited about investing in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry for the past 70 years, and the company is hoping that the government will consider it as part of its energy future.
The Chairman and Managing Director of ExxonMobil, Shane Harris said this during a roadshow to market 19 oil blocks, organised by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in Miami, Florida, USA.
The regulator is advertising opportunities for investors in its 12 new acreages- PPL 300-CS; PPL 301-CS; PPL 3008; PPL 3009; PPL 2001; PPL 2002; PML 51; PPL 267; PPL 268; PPL 269; PPL 270; and PPL 271 and 7 others from the 2022 mini-bid round.
Harris told International Oil Companies at the roadshow that Nigeria’s recent legislations like the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, the new executive order of President Bola Tinubu, and NUPRC’s efforts to fast-track divestment of IOC assets is a reflection of the country’s readiness to harness its hydrocarbon resources.
Harris said, “ExxonMobil has been in partnership for 7 decades. It is a very very long partnership. We currently have a number of deep water assets that we currently operate or are operated by others under contract sharing agreements. But they are all built on a foundation of exceptional resource base.
“A very prolific service department that existed so many years ago, exists today and that exists for the future. That is what we are talking about today- that opportunity space.
“Seventy years is a long time to be a partner and we have gone through changes in market environment, changes in commodity price and changes in national interest. So, for all the wins and accomplishments, there are also a number of challenges but the incredible collaborations that go between companies like ourselves with the government and with the regulators always enable us to go through those barriers and through those challenges together.”
At the investment call in Miami, NUPRC’s Chief Executive, Gbenga Komolafe hinted at numerous waivers available for investors in the listed assets including the reduction of entry fees.
“That is also coming up with an outcome that is best for the nation, best for the people and best for the investors as well,” the ExxonMobil MD said adding, “I am incredibly encouraged by the first year of His Excellency, President Tinubu’s administration and the actions that he has taken so far.”
Harris said Nigeria’s energy future is secured with the current regulatory framework put in place by the NUPRC and other players in the industry including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd.
The MD added, “I am encouraged by those who are translating those actions and many of them are here from regulators to partners who ensure a tangible and executable action are taken for ourselves as operators and investors.
“If we continue to collaborate, if we continue to cooperate, and if we continue to work with transparency, then the future is incredibly bright given the foundation that we are working on.
“I am very excited about that opportunity space that is ahead of us. I look forward to the future and hope that ExxonMobil is part of Nigeria’s landscape for years to come.”