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Market Chatter: Dangote's WAEP Hires 3 Rigs to Tap 1.6 Billion Barrels in Nigeria

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Dangote's upstream oil company has contracted three jack-up rigs and plans to begin drilling in December as it moves to develop more than 1.6 billion barrels of oil in place across two Nigerian blocks acquired from Shell (SHEL).

West African Exploration and Production Company expects to ramp up crude production and install infrastructure to monetize gas from the assets within 24 months, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Olajumoke Cecilia Ajayi said.

Oil Mining Leases 71 and 72 contain more than 1.6 billion barrels of oil in place and about 1.9 trillion cubic feet of gas, based on discoveries made to date, Ajayi said.

WAEP acquired a 45% working interest in the two blocks from the Shell joint venture in 2015. WAEP did not immediately reply to' request for comment.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

Price: $92.95, Change: $+0.62, Percent Change: +0.67%

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