The Nigeria current crude oil production is expected to add up with 40KBPD according to a pledge made by the ExxonMobil President Liam Mallon to the Nigerian President Mr. Ahmed Bola Tinubu at the sideline meeting of the 78th United Nation General Assembly. The good news was disclosed by the Nigerian presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale in a statement he recently and reported by Reuters..

The statement Mr. Ngelale and quoting Mallon, said ExxonMobil would be adding oil production of nearly 40,000 barrels per day in Nigeria in a new investment push in the country. The statement was the product of the meeting  the Nigerian President Bola Tinubu had  with Mallon in New York, ahead of the U.N. General Assembly in the quest to seek the oil giant investment commitment in the nation’s energy sector

Ngelale said the president made his position known that Nigeria is no longer settling for crumbs and leftovers on the investment agenda of the world’s most prolific energy conglomerates. ExxonMobil has “made significant progress” in Nigeria, the statement quoted Mallon as saying.

“We are growing our production, and we are working hard on expanding in the deepwater production,” he said.

An Exxon spokesperson confirmed talks with the Nigerian president but declined to give further details, according to Reuters.

“President Tinubu said that, following an illustrious private sector career as a professional accountant in the oil & gas industry, he has proven his capacity to take difficult decisions as President. He also said that he is best prepared to solve problems and crush all bottlenecks standing in the way of new and large-scale capital flowing into Nigeria’s oil & gas industry,” Ngelale said

“The knotty issues require direct supervision on my part. Despite many contending obligations, I will sit down and oversee the process of removing these encumbrances to job and wealth creation for the Nigerian people. We know the industry. We grew up in it. We are positioned to solve the problems, and we are pragmatic, and we will solve the problem”. He added.

Dagote Refinery comes Onstream

Meanwhile ExxonMobil statement is coming few days after Dangote Refinery the group’s executive director Devakumar Edwin disclosed to S&P Global that the plant is poised to make importation of crude oil to kick start its operation in October this year. Nigeria’s oil and condensates is currently at 1.67 million barrels per day and the African largest refinery is expected to gulp one third of this daily output if all things being equal.

But in his recent interview with S&P Global Commodity Insight, Dangote Refinery group’s executive director Devakumar Edwin disclosed   that the refinery would receive its first crude cargo in two weeks’ time and would begin producing up to 370,000 barrels per day of diesel and jet fuel in October 2023. He further emphasized the readiness of th plant to being operation once the crude oil arrived.

“Right now, I’m ready to receive crude. We are just waiting for the first vessel. And so, as soon as it comes in, we can start.” Group Executive Director Devakumar Edwin disclosed   

On the basis for the importation of crude oil, Mr. Edwin said that the refinery will start receiving its feed stock from Nigeria crude oil production in November as Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited current crude oil production is already committed to another entity on a forward basis, causing a temporary delay. He said that the setback is momentary, and the refinery would soon run exclusively on Nigerian crude oil as of November 2023.