Esso Urges Greater Project Competitiveness To Attract Global Investment

Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (an ExxonMobil affiliate) has called for stronger collaboration among industry stakeholders to enhance the competitiveness of Nigerian oil and gas projects and attract global capital.

The call was made by the chairman and managing director of ExxonMobil affiliates in Nigeria, Jagir Baxi, at the Upstream Leadership Dialogue Session of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) 2026 recently.

Baxi said Nigeria’s deepwater projects must be globally competitive to secure investment within ExxonMobil’s worldwide portfolio. According to him, recent policy and regulatory reforms have created a solid foundation, but operators and partners must work together to translate these frameworks into clearly defined, bankable projects.

“Our strategy is to improve the competitiveness of our business in Nigeria so it can compete within our global portfolio,” Baxi said.

He explained that Esso is focusing on improving reliability and performance while reducing costs across its Nigerian operations to enable them attract funding in a highly competitive global investment environment.

Baxi cited the deepwater Usan field as an example, noting that Esso and its partners are preparing to commit about $1 billion to unlock between 30,000 and 40,000 barrels of new production capacity. He said the investment would support Nigeria’s target of producing two million barrels of oil per day by 2027 and position Usan as a hub for the development of nearby discovered resources.

According to him, the company is prioritising the development of deepwater assets and other discovered resources that can leverage ExxonMobil’s global capabilities to deliver large-scale projects with strong performance outcomes.

Baxi added that with the right enabling environment, ExxonMobil is ready to deploy its global expertise and capital in Nigeria to support energy security, economic growth and the country’s energy transition objectives.

He further disclosed that Esso’s ongoing initiatives have strengthened partnerships and opened opportunities for the development of assets such as the Esso-operated Owowo and Bosi undeveloped fields, as well as Esso’s interests in Bonga South West.