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Chevron Corporation has announced plans to increase its exploration holdings in African oil producers such as Nigeria and Angola.
The company promised to ramp up its exploration efforts due to the anticipated potential for a production rebound in both countries, despite years of decline.
The Vice President of Global Exploration at Chevron, Liz Schwarze, disclosed this during an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday.
She noted that West Africa is a hydrocarbon-rich region that is relatively underexplored compared to other parts of the world.
She stated, “This is such a hydrocarbon-rich part of the world and relatively underexplored compared to other jurisdictions. The proof is in the action.”
Chevron Nigeria’s plan to ramp up oil exploration follows a recent oil discovery in the Niger Delta, which has the potential to produce up to 17,000 barrels per day.
The discovery termed a “near-field find,” was made with the Meji NW-1 well within Petroleum Mining Lease 49, according to a statement from Chevron released on October 18.
The block is located in the shallow offshore region of the Western Niger Delta.
In the statement, the company explained that the discovery supports Chevron’s broader global exploration strategy, which focuses on identifying new resources that can extend the life of existing assets and enable faster development and production.
Chevron’s increase in oil exploration across Africa is part of its broader resource search on the continent, Schwarze said.
The company began drilling a well in Egypt this month and plans to launch an exploration campaign in Namibia in December.
In Angola, which left the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last year after a decline in crude production, Chevron added deep-water blocks 49 and 50.
Last year, President Tinubu set a target to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production to 4 million barrels per day by 2030, amidst the departure of multinational companies from onshore operations.
In recent years, oil giants like ENI, AGIP, Shell, and ExxonMobil have either announced or completed the sale of their onshore oil and gas assets.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has faced challenges in boosting oil production to meet both its OPEC quota and domestic refinery needs.
Since the start of the year, the country’s output has remained between 1.2 and 1.3 million barrels per day.
In September, Nigeria’s average crude oil production dropped by 33,000 barrels, reaching 1.405 million barrels per day.
According to OPEC’s October oil market report, Nigeria’s production decreased from 1.438 million barrels per day in August, based on secondary data from Nigerian authorities.
