…as Tinubu assures investors of the country’s readiness for business
Liam Mallon, ExxonMobil president, global upstream operations, says the company is working towards about 40,000bpd crude production from phase one of its new investment in Nigeria.
The planned investment is expected to shore up Africa’s biggest economy’s crude production which continues to suffer setbacks due to constant theft and vandalism of oil facilities, especially in the Niger Delta region.
Mallon spoke when he led a delegation of the global leadership of ExxonMobil to meet President Bola Tinubu in New York on Monday. The Nigerian leader is attending the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Mallon told President Tinubu that he was aware of the new and personal commitment that he (Tinubu) was bringing to bear on behalf of Nigeria and that the company was well-placed to reciprocate the president’s efforts with new investments.
“What you told us was that your team would collaborate with us, and that has proven true. We have made significant progress since we last met. We are growing our production, and we are working hard on expanding deep-water production.
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“We appreciate your efforts, and we will respond in kind. The time is right. Thank you for your leadership,” the ExxonMobil president told the Nigerian leader.
Responding, President Tinubu assured global investors of Nigeria’s readiness to do business with them, saying his new administration was removing hurdles that hitherto discouraged investments in the nation’s economy.
Tinubu also said that Nigeria was no longer settling for ‘crumbs and leftovers’ on the investment agenda of energy conglomerates, according to a statement by Ajuri Ngelale, the presidential spokesman.
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The president told the ExxonMobil delegation that he has proven his capacity to make difficult decisions and that he was best prepared to solve problems and remove all hindrances in the way of new and large-scale capital inflow to Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
“Despite many contending obligations, I will sit down and oversee the process of removing all encumbrances to job and wealth creation for 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,” the president assured.
