American oil giant, ExxonMobil, has announced the discovery of about 1 billion barrels of crude oil in a Nigerian offshore oilfield.
In an emailed statement on Thursday, the firm described the development as “a significant discovery with a potential recoverable resource of between 500 million and one billion barrels”.
ExxonMobil said the discovery came when its engineers carried out a drilling exercise at Owowo-3 oil well, several miles of the coast of Bayelsa State, southern Nigeria.
The exercise took place on September 23 and the engineers encountered about 460 feet (140 metres) of oil-bearing sandstone reservoir.
The latest discovery followed an earlier find at Owowo-2 well, which yielded about 515 feet (157 metres) of oil-bearing sandstone reservoir.
“We are encouraged by the results and will work with our partners and the government on future development plans,” ExxonMobil President, Stephen Greenlee, said in the statement.
The Owowo field spans portions of the contract areas of Oil Prospecting Licence 223 and Oil Mining Licence 139. The well was drilled by ExxonMobil affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater Ventures) Limited, and proved additional resource in deeper reservoirs.
But the company warned that the discovery and other future activities around it are subject to revisions.
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