ExxonMobil and its joint venture partners have committed $1 billion to the Usan Infill Project in Nigeria’s deepwater block OML 138. The upstream development is engineered to add 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) to Nigeria’s crude oil production profile. According to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the capital allocation marks the official return to active offshore drilling operations by ExxonMobil’s affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria, which last executed a drilling campaign in the country in 2016.
The multi-million-dollar deepwater intervention aligns with national energy volume targets:
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Fast-Track Production Timelines: Speaking at an energy conference in Abuja, ExxonMobil Nigeria Managing Director Jagir Baxi confirmed the investment commitment. NUPRC Chief Executive Oritsemyiwa Eyesan stated that the infill project is on track to deliver its first oil output within 18 months. The investment opportunity was accelerated after advanced 3D seismic data successfully identified untapped, high-yield pockets within the existing Usan asset.
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Production Sharing Optimization: The Usan field, situated within Oil Mining Lease (OML) 138, operates under a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd). The infill drilling program allows the operators to maximize returns on existing floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) infrastructure, significantly reducing the per-barrel cost of extracting new crude reserves.
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Broader Licensing and Exploration Push: This announcement coincides with a wider regulatory push by the federal government to reverse declining crude outputs and secure foreign direct investment (FDI). Parallel to the ExxonMobil deal, the NUPRC issued 19 oil prospecting licenses (OPLs) covering deepwater, shallow-water, and continental shelf fields to successful investors from the 2022/2023 Mini Bid Round and the 2024 Licensing Round.
