Exxon Mobil recently held talks on the sale of a suite of oil and gas fields in Nigeria as the company focuses on new developments in U.S. shale and Guyana, industry and banking sources told Reuters.
The potential disposals are expected to include stakes in onshore and offshore fields and could raise up to $3 billion, two sources said. “Exxon is actively divesting in Nigeria,” one source who was briefed on the divestment plans said.
Exxon officials have held talks in recent weeks with several Nigerian companies to gauge their interest in the fields. One source said Exxon was soon due to open a “data room” – which would provide technical information on the fields, such as seismic and production details – in Nigeria.
The discussions focused on a number of onshore fields Exxon shares in joint ventures with Nigerian state oil firm NNPC, including oil mining leases 66, 68, 70 and 104, one source said. Exxon’s share of oil production in those fields reached 120,000 bpd in 2017, the last year for which data was available. Exxon is also weighing the possible sale of stakes in offshore fields in Nigeria, two sources said.