ExxonMobil may sell $3bn Nigerian assets, 3yrs after exiting downstream sector

Three years after exiting Nigeria’s oil downstream sector, US oil giant Exxon Mobil is reportedly considering the sales of its onshore and offshore assets.

Reuters reports the potential disposals could raise up to $3 billion or N1.07 trillion as the oil giant focuses on new developments in U.S shale and Guyana

“Exxon is actively divesting in Nigeria,” Reuters quoted a source to have said.

Some of the assets listed in the planned sale include oil mining leases (OML) 66, 68, 70 and 104, where the company runs joint venture (JV) operations with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) through its subsidiaries, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN) and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd. (EEPNL).

ExxonMobil is one of the largest oil and gas producers in Nigeria with 106 operated platforms.

Read also: Shell remits $6.4bn to Nigerian govt In 2018

In 2017, the Texas-based company said on its website that its output in Nigeria reached 225,000 barrels per day (bpd)

Officials of the company have reportedly held talks with indigenous companies to gauge their interest in the fields.

The Nigerian government has in the last decade supported a drive by domestic firms such as Oando, Seplat and privately held Aiteo to expand their operations in the country as international companies including Royal Dutch Shell sought to lower their presence due to oil spills resulting from pipeline sabotage.

Exxon recently launched the sale of its stake in Azerbaijan’s largest oilfield, which would mark its retreat from the former Soviet state after 25 years.

Exxon announced earlier this year plans to boost its capital spending from $26 billion in 2018 to $30 billion in 2019 and up to $35 billion next year as it seeks to develop oilfields in Guyana and the U.S. Permian basin as well as gas projects in Mozambique and the U.S. Gulf Coast.

In an analyst presentation last month, Exxon said it would accelerate its divestments to around $15 billion by 2021.

It is looking into offering for sale assets in Equatorial Guinea and Chad.

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