Exxon Mobil signs 20-year leases on oil fields in Nigeria

U.S oil giant Exxon Mobil Corporation has signed 20-year leases on three major oil fields in Nigeria after strained negotiations between the company and the West African nation’s government, officials announced Wednesday.

Negotiations dragged on for months between the Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil and the Nigerian government, with confusion over the contracts exasperating the company’s officials. The shallow water fields just off Nigeria’s southern coast produce about 500,000 barrels of oil a day, a major chunk of the company’s production in the country.

In a statement, the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. quoted the nation’s petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke describing the deal as a “mutually fair agreement.” A spokesman for Exxon Mobil’s Nigerian subsidiary did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The announcement comes amid a yearly oil and gas conference in Nigeria’s capital Abuja. Speaking there Wednesday, Exxon Mobil managing director in Nigeria said the country needed to do more to make sure there’s stability for the foreign oil companies working there.

“Having resources alone is not enough,” Mark R. Ward said, according to remarks released by Exxon Mobil to The Associated Press. “As more nations join the ranks of developed economies, Nigeria’s best hope for re-energizing growth and creating new jobs is to put in place a stable policy framework that supports long-term investment.”

Nigeria is still considering whether to overhaul laws surrounding oil production. Debate over the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill has caused foreign companies to hold off on new investments in Nigeria. Analysts say the petroleum bill would sharply reduce the profits of foreign oil companies working in Nigeria like Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil, Eni SpA, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Total SA.

Government officials say the bill would allow more oil money to return to Nigeria’s people.

However, the bill has apparently stalled after years of discussion and it remains unclear whether Nigeria’s National Assembly will be able to pass any change to the laws soon.

Nigeria, an OPEC member nation producing about 2.4 million barrels of crude oil a day, is a top supplier to the U.S.

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Posted by Staff Writer on Feb 22 2012. Filed under Africa, Headlines, Licensing & Concessions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry