ExxonMobil Nigeria has expressed commitment to maintain a significant Deepwater presence in Nigeria over the next 20 years to unlock the potential value in its renewed Oil Mining Leases (OMLs)
The Executive Director and General Counsel, ExxonMobil Nigeria, Adesua Dozie, disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.
Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its partners in the OMLs on Friday executed fully termed agreements for renegotiated Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs). The renegotiations will put to rest the protracted dispute between the NNPC Ltd. and the Contractor Parties in OMLs 125, 128, 130, 132 and 133, as well as 138 PSCs.
Under this development, ExxonMobil Nigeria renewed its OMLs 133 (Erha) and 138 (Usan) deep-water leases for a further 20-year period.
The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 gave NNPC Ltd. the legal backing to renegotiate all its existing PSCs in conformance to the provisions of the new Act within a one-year period.
The PIA, in Section 311(2) stipulates that new PSCs agreements under new Heads of Terms should be signed between NNPC Ltd. as Concessionaire and her Contractor Parties within one year of signing the PIA into law. This provision paved the way for the resolution of lingering disputes which created investment uncertainty and stifled new investments in the nation’s deep offshore assets.
The renewed PSCs would generate 10 billion barrels of oil cumulatively, unlock opportunities within the Nigeria upstream sector, enhance revenue, an inflow of Foreign Direct Investments and expand access to affordable energy and job creation.
Speaking on the negotiation, the General Counsel described the renewed agreements as fantastic and exciting deals, after many years of dispute, adding that it would bring additional investments and spur economic growth.
