KEY POINTS
- ExxonMobil has begun the $1bn Usan Infill Project after the arrival of the Noble Gerry de Souza drillship.
- The project is expected to add up to 40,000 barrels of oil per day within 18 months.
- The development will use new drilling and subsea infrastructure to maximise output from the existing Usan field.
ExxonMobil’s Nigerian affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited, has commenced a major new phase of development at the Usan oil field with the arrival of an ultra-deepwater drillship in Nigerian waters.
The company announced that the Noble Gerry de Souza, a state-of-the-art ultra-deepwater drilling vessel, had arrived to begin operations for the Usan Infill Project in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 138.
The arrival of the drillship represents a significant milestone in ExxonMobil’s plans to increase crude oil production from the deepwater asset while making greater use of existing offshore infrastructure.
The project is expected to provide a relatively rapid boost to Nigeria’s oil output, with the company projecting up to 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) of additional production within 18 months.
$1bn investment to expand Usan production
The Usan Infill Project is backed by a cumulative investment of about $1 billion from the partners in OML 138.
The investment highlights the continued commitment of ExxonMobil and its partners to deepwater oil production in Nigeria and comes amid renewed efforts to attract capital into the country’s oil and gas sector.
Rather than developing an entirely new offshore field, the infill project is designed to extract additional crude from the existing Usan field by drilling new wells and expanding subsea development around existing facilities.
This approach allows the operator to maximise the value of infrastructure already in place and potentially bring new production online faster than a completely new deepwater development.
Esso said the project was structured as a short-cycle investment capable of delivering additional production within a relatively short timeframe.
The company expects the development to contribute as much as 40,000bpd to Nigeria’s oil production within 18 months.
If achieved, the additional output could provide a meaningful boost to the country’s crude production and strengthen government revenues and foreign-exchange earnings.
The development could also help support Nigeria’s broader efforts to improve energy security and reverse years of declining or stagnant oil production caused by ageing assets, operational challenges, underinvestment and disruptions in the sector.
