Exxon to ramp up oil production in Nigeria

Sep 25, 2023 News

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Kaieteur News – U.S oil and gas major ExxonMobil has embarked on ramping up its oil production by nearly 40,000 barrels per day in Nigeria.

Reuters reported that this expansion was revealed following talks held between Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and Exxon’s Liam Mallon in New York.

The meeting, which took place ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, was part of Nigeria’s efforts to attract global capital to Africa’s largest economy, as stated by presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale.

Nigeria’s state oil firm, NNPC Ltd., operates joint ventures and offshore production-sharing contracts with major oil companies, including Exxon, responsible for pumping over 80% of the country’s oil. Liam Mallon, representing Exxon, commented on their progress in Nigeria, stating, “We are growing our production, and we are working hard on expanding in the deepwater production.”

While Exxon confirmed the talks with the Nigerian president, they did not provide further details.

Nigeria has experienced an increase in its oil and condensates output, reaching 1.67 million barrels per day, up from just under a million in recent months. This improvement is attributed to enhanced security measures in the oil-rich Niger River delta region. However, Nigeria continues to face challenges in its oil industry, such as large-scale theft and sabotage, despite passing a historic oil bill into law two years ago aimed at easing regulatory uncertainties and attracting investments.

President Tinubu pledged to address these challenges and facilitate the flow of new and large-scale capital into Nigeria’s energy sector, stating, “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.” He emphasized that Nigeria is now more prepared for business than ever before.

Meanwhile, on a different front, the Government of Guyana revealed that ExxonMobil Guyana Limited is increasing daily production at the two Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, Liza Destiny and Liza Unity.

The Liza Destiny was the country’s first FPSO and was designed to safely produce 120,000 barrels per day (bpd), however the GoG in its Mid-Year Report on the performance of the economy said that production has been ramped up to 153,000 bpd.

It explained, “On the production front, the sector experienced a rapid expansion in output from both producing FPSOs, when compared with the first half of last year, with ramped up output amid optimisation and maintenance scopes. As previously mentioned, the Liza Destiny FPSO produced at almost 153,000 barrels per day (bpd), on average, in the first half of 2023, compared with approximately 109,348 bpd last year.

The government was keen to note that the platform recently underwent “additional optimization” works with plans in place to further ramp up production.

Meanwhile, on the second FPSO, Liza Unity, which was designed according to its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), to produce up to 220,000 barrels per day, production has been pushed beyond the vessel’s nameplate capacity.

The Ministry of Finance recent Mid-Year Report stated, “As it relates to the Liza Unity FPSO, production of crude oil averaged 226,500 bpd in the first half of this year, compared with 105,948 bpd from February 11 to June 30, 2022.”

The government indicated that the platform was subjected to the first phase of optimization works and is expected to produce at a whopping 35,000 bpd beyond its original design capacity. According to the Mid-Year Report, Exxon is expected to further ramp up daily production at the Liza Two project to 255,000 bpd in the second half of the year.

In unveiling plans to further boost oil production at the Stabroek Block, the administration pointed out that the third FPSO, Prosperity, which will operate the Payara project is expected to start-up in the fourth quarter of this year.

Prosperity arrived in Guyana back in April 2023. Presently, commissioning activity is ongoing. Once operational, the three projects will produce a combined daily output of more than 560,000 bpd.

The Prosperity FPSO was designed to safely produce up to 220,000 bpd according to the EIA submitted by ExxonMobil. Even though the project is yet to commence, the developer has already announced its intent to produce above the design capacity.

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• Ajuri Ngelale, ExxonMobil, Guyana Limited, Nigeria's state oil firm, optimisation

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