The president made the call at an audience with a team from
ExxonMobil Corporation led by Liam Mallon, its President on Upstream Oil and
Gas, at State House Abuja, on Wednesday.
“I will expect the ExxonMobil companies in Nigeria to avail
themselves of the opportunities created by the Petroleum Industry Act and
invest in further development of the Nigerian assets in line with our national
interest.
“We expect that your company will also support our desire to
deepen gas utilization and monetization aimed at reducing our carbon footprint
and facilitating economic growth and development of our country.”
He also urged the ExxonMobil chief to collaborate on a
bigger scale with the NNPC to realize the full potentials of the abundant gas
resources in Nigeria.
“We look forward to ExxonMobil engaging in deeper
collaboration and partnership with the New NNPC and other Nigerian institutions
to ensure optimum exploitation of the abundant Oil and Gas resources in Nigeria
while also aligning the processes with the global drive towards carbon
neutrality,” he added.
Buhari commended his guests for their commitment to continue
to be a bigger player in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.
“We thank you very much for the reassuring words on your
continued presence in Nigeria with the promise of expanding your investments in
the Deep-water.
“This will no doubt be further facilitated by the provisions
of the Petroleum Industry Act which are designed to provide a competitive
fiscal framework and a world-class regulatory framework that is at par with our
global peers,” he said.
Mallon had told the President that ExxonMobil, which has
done business in Nigeria for over 60 years, remained as committed and strong as
ever, though it was divesting from the Joint Venture (shallow water) with NNPC.
However, he assured the president that “whoever emerges
buyer must be a capable operator. We won’t compromise on that at all.
“The party must have the capacity to make growth vision
happen. And we will be very transparent about it.”
Meanwhile, the ExxonMobil boss commended the president on
the successful way the country handled the COVID-19 pandemic, and also for the
passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill.
“Work started on the PIB about 20 years ago, you have now
brought it to a closure. I know how much effort went into it. We are proud of
your leadership,” he said.