July 9 (THEWILL) — ExxonMobil and its partners have committed $1 billion to the Usan Infill Project in Nigeria’s offshore oil sector, with the investment expected to increase the country’s crude oil production by about 40,000 barrels per day.
The investment, announced at the 25th NOG Energy Week Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, marks another boost for Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry as the Federal Government steps up efforts to attract fresh capital into the sector.
The announcement was made by the Managing Director of ExxonMobil affiliates in Nigeria, Jagir Baxi, on Wednesday.
ExxonMobil’s Nigerian subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria, operates OML 138, which hosts the offshore Usan oil field under a Production Sharing Contract with NNPC Limited. The field is one of Nigeria’s major deep-water producing assets.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) welcomed the investment, describing it as a strong signal of growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Speaking at the event, the Commission Chief Executive, Gbenga Komolafe, said the project is particularly significant because it marks ExxonMobil’s return to drilling activities in Nigeria after Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria suspended drilling operations in 2016.
He added that the Usan Infill Project is expected to deliver first oil within about 18 months following seismic studies that identified additional development opportunities in the field.
The project is being executed by a consortium comprising NNPC Limited, ExxonMobil, Chevron, TotalEnergies, and Nexen, a subsidiary of China’s CNOOC.
Also at the conference, the NUPRC presented Petroleum Prospecting Licences to successful participants in the 2022/2023 Mini Bid Round and the 2024 Licensing Round.
In total, 12 companies received 19 licences covering deep offshore, shallow-water and continental shelf acreages.
The latest commitment builds on ExxonMobil’s renewed investment strategy in Nigeria’s offshore sector announced in 2025.
At the time, the company unveiled plans to invest up to $10 billion in deep-water developments centred on the proposed Owo Project while also committing about $1 billion annually to maintenance and an additional $1.5 billion to increase production by roughly 50,000 barrels per day over the coming years.
Ogochukwu Onwaeze is a writer specializing in business and economic journalism. At THEWILL News Media, she translates market trends, financial developments, and policy shifts into clear and engaging stories.
