Large companies may have a lot of money to spend on new investments, but sometimes they have to divest from some assets in order to embark on new operations and even a behemoth as big as Exxon Mobil is not immune from that. In a new development, it has come to light that the company is considering the sale of its oil and gas field in Nigeria, in order to focus on projects in the United States and Guyana. However, it is not a complete exit for the American giant from Nigeria, which remains one of the most oil-rich countries in the world and will continue to have a significant presence. According to sources close to the developments, the company is looking at divesting from certain oil fields in order to finance its new investments, and it is believed that the sale of these assets is going to raise around $3 billion. The oil fields that are going to be sold are going to be both onshore and offshore in nature.
In this regard, it is necessary to point out that Nigeria remains an extremely important place in terms of Exxon Mobil’s overall strategy as a company and according to records published by the company, the production from the oil fields in the country are considerable. Hence, there is no reason to think that the current divestment plan has anything to do with the company’s long term strategy pertaining to Nigeria. For instance, in 2017, Exxon Mobil extracted a staggering 225,000 barrels every day from its oil fields in Nigeria, and that goes to show that the company’s presence in the country is going to be strong in the near future.
The shale oil exploration business in the United States is expected to explode in the years to come and for a company like Exxon Mobil, it should be at the top of their priority list. Many oil and natural gas giants have already made a big move into it, and in the coming years, it is a sector that is going to spark massive competition among the world’s biggest companies. Much of Exxon Mobil’s success in the African country is down to the joint ventures it has gone into with the Nigerian government, and it has proven to be a massive success. Last week, the company spoke with local Nigerian oil and gas companies regarding the possibility of stake sales in some oil fields in the country.