Usan Project
ExxonMobil is committing $1 billion to the Usan Infill Project offshore Nigeria.
This marks the company’s first drilling campaign in the country since 2016 and is expected to add approximately 40,000 barrels per day of crude oil production.
Jagir Baxi, Managing Director of ExxonMobil Nigeria, confirmed the investment at an industry conference in Abuja.
Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria operate the project — ExxonMobil’s local affiliate — under a production-sharing contract with NNPC Limited, Nigeria’s state-owned national oil company, on the OML 138 block, which encompasses the Usan field.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the body responsible for technical and commercial oversight of Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas sector, said seismic data analysis had identified additional development opportunities within the Usan field, providing the technical basis for the renewed investment.
First oil is expected within 18 months of the project’s commencement.
The announcement carries significant weight for Nigeria’s upstream sector, which has spent much of the past decade watching international oil majors reduce or exit their onshore and shallow-water positions. ExxonMobil itself agreed to sell its Nigerian onshore and shallow-water assets to Seplat Energy in a deal that has faced regulatory delays — making this deepwater commitment a pointed signal that the company retains appetite for the country’s offshore frontier.
Nigeria holds some of Africa’s largest proven crude reserves and has long positioned its deepwater acreage as a draw for major capital.
The Usan field sits in deep water offshore the Niger Delta, a basin that has attracted sustained interest from global operators despite the broader divestment trend onshore.
