United States-based ExxonMobil Corporation on Thursday said it had discovered up to one billion barrels of oil in the Owowo field, offshore Nigeria.
The oil major said it was “a significant discovery with a potential recoverable resource of between 500 million and one billion barrels.”
It said the Owowo-3 well, which was drilled on September 23, encountered about 460 feet (140 metres) of oil-bearing sandstone reservoir.
ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, had last week announced the sale of its 60 per cent stake in Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc to Nipco Plc, signalling its exit from Nigeria’s downstream oil and gas sub-sector.
Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark, Brent crude, bounced back to the $50 per barrel mark on Thursday after it fell to a 24-day low the previous day.
