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more African countries’ oil finds threaten Nigeria

By Ediri Ejoh with Agency report

THERE are indications that ExxonMobil has concluded plans to divest from some onshore and offshore fields worth $3 billion in Nigeria.

Industry and banking sources that made this disclosure to Reuters, said: “The potential disposals are expected to include stakes in onshore and offshore fields and could raise up to $3-billion. Exxon is actively divesting in Nigeria.”

Investigation by Vanguard, showed that this development is coming after the company had couple of years ago divested its downstream business to NIPCO Plc.

Exxon’s oil output in the West African country reached 225,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2017, adding: “Exxon officials have held talks in recent weeks with several Nigerian companies to gauge their interest in the fields.”

Reuters disclosed that the discussions focused on a number of onshore fields Exxon shares in joint ventures with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, including oil mining leases 66, 68, 70 and 104, one source said.

Africa oil producers’ threat

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Natural Resource Charter (NNRC) has expressed fears over current discoveries of crude oil in other Africa countries which posses threats to Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global oil and gas market.

According to a presentation by the NNRC Programme Coordinator, Tengi George-Ikoli, countries like Ghana; Cote d’Ivoire, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, have all emerged as new hydrocarbon jurisdictions in the continent, offering investors better alternatives with market-driven reforms.

George-Ikoli, explained that these countries and their offerings were threats to Nigeria’s competitiveness.

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