Following the expiration of its license in 2026, Exxon Mobil Corp. will cease oil production in Equatorial Guinea in West Africa.
The action is a part of broader efforts by majors to decrease oil production in West Africa and redirect investments toward the development of lower-carbon natural gas and more lucrative projects in the Americas.
According to Gail Anderson of energy consultants Wood Mackenzie, who was quoted by Reuters, “It is a high-cost zone where carbon emissions are also a problem.”
Exxon has cut its output from Equatorial Guinea to less than 15,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) through its existing production unit Serpentina and evacuated staff from the offshore production platform Zafiro this year.
Exxon’s oil output in Equatorial Guinea, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), peaked at more than 300,000 bpd eight years ago, but this has been declining since.
Due to rampant levels of oil theft, oil producers Chevron Corp., Shell Plc., and Exxon have also downgraded operations in Nigeria, selling most of their assets to local companies.
This year, Nigeria lost ground to Angola as the continent’s top exporter as its output fell to a 32-year low. This year, TotalEnergies also left Angola.
While the continent’s crude oil output is declining, liquefied natural gas (LNG) production is increasing. Additionally, as a result of large-scale investments in gas and LNG for the European market and the imposition of sanctions on Russian supplies, other regions of the world may see an increase in the production of fossil fuels.
