- Exxon Mobil Corp XOM would wind down oil production in Equatorial Guinea and leave the West African country after its license expired in 2026.
- The exit reflected a broader move by major oil producers to reduce crude production in West Africa for lower-carbon natural gas development and more lucrative projects in the Americas, Reuters reports.
- "It is a high-cost region where carbon emissions are a problem as well," said Gail Anderson at energy consultants Wood Mackenzie.
- Exxon has cut its output in the country to less than 15,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) through the existing production unit Serpentina.
- This year, it evacuated staff from the offshore production platform Zafiro due to water entering the aging vessel.
- Europe, which has been looking for alternative oil suppliers after sanctions on Russia this year, is the leading destination for Equatorial Guinea's oil exports.
- Africa struggled to meet OPEC quotas due to the lack of investments in crude production.
- Foreign oil producers Chevron Corp CVX, Shell Plc RYDAF, and Exxon have retreated from Nigeria due to rampant levels of oil theft, selling their assets primarily to local companies.
- As crude output in West Africa shrinks, production in the Americas will likely grow to 28 million bpd next year, up 2.3 million bpd from pre-pandemic levels, OPEC estimates show. Much of the increase comes from the U.S., Canada, Guyana, and Brazil, some places where Exxon has increased spending on oil output.
- While crude oil production wanes in West Africa, the continent's liquefied natural gas (LNG) future is rising, and fossil fuel output could grow elsewhere in Africa.
- Price Action: XOM shares traded higher by 1.55% at $111.51 in the premarket on the last check Tuesday.
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