ExxonMobil uses the recent visit of Ibe Kachikwu, minister of petroleum resources to its facilities to dismiss reports that it will be leaving Nigeria
IBE Kachikwu, minister of State for Petroleum Resources, may have used his visit at the weeked to the ERHA FPSO operated by ExxonMobil Nigeria to dismiss douse tension over the rumour that the international oil comapny will be leaving Nigeria soon. His visit came on the heels of media report that ExxonMobil will sell of its assets worth $3 billion.
Richard Laing, executive director and production manager of ExxonMobil Nigeria, also used the opportunity of the ministers visit to firmly debunk the unsubstantiated rumor about the company’s exit from Nigeria. Laing noted that the ERHA field is located in Oil Mining Lease, OML, 133 and ExxonMobil Nigeria holds a 56.25 percent participating interest while Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, SNEPCO, holds the remaining 43.75 percent share.
Kachikwu’s visit to ExxonMobil facilities is not only reassuring but marks a defining one for the nation. It highlights the minister’s personal achievement considering that he took on his current portfolio from his then position as the executive vice chairman of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited and general counsel for ExxonMobil Nigeria affiliate Upstream and Downstream Companies in Nigeria.
L-R: Ekpe Nkan, Offshore Installation manager, ERHA FPSO; Oge Udeagha – manager, Media and Communications, ExxonMobil Nigeria; Scott Hommema, general manager, Deepwater Operations and Joint Interest, ExxonMobil Nigeria; Kachikwu, Simbiat Yusuff, contact engineer, ERHA FPSO; Richard Laing, executive director and production manager, ExxonMobil Nigeria; Niyi Idowu, general manager, External Relations, ExxonMobil Nigeria
This latest round of visits to the FPSO’s is to provoke the oil production fields of Nigeria to ramp up their crude production and unlock gas in line with the Gas Revolution Agenda of the #7BigWins.
Laing received the minister while Scott Hommema, general manager, Deepwater Operations and Joint Interest, took him and his delegation on a tour of the FPSO. The Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading, FPSO, has about 2.2 million barrels of storage capacity making it one of the largest of its kind, globally.
Addressing key business concerns of ExxonMobil Nigeria, Kachikwu urged them to not only focus on the profitability of the firm but also on giving back to the society having been doing business around the country for a long time. He commended the crew on behalf of the federal government of Nigeria for their sacrifice, urgency of attention and value addition while conveying President Muhammadu Buhari’s deep commitment to the welfare of those on the production fields.
Kachikwu name-checked the Department of Petroleum Resources’ automation initiatives that include Crude Oil and LNG Tracking, COLT, Automatic Downstream System, ADS, and Accelerated Lease Renewal Programme, ALRP. He also referenced the community engagement drive of the organization evidenced by the peace and harmony seen in operating areas.
