ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil To Be Operators In JDZ

Joint Development Zone of the Gulf of Guinea, which is managed by Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe, will be developed by several world oil majors.
ChevronTexaco has been appointed the operator of oil block 01, one of the nine oil blocks of Joint Development Zone. The company will have 51 percent as the operator.

Another US major ExxonMobil has got 40 percent stake in the block, while Norway's Equity Energy Resources (EER) was awarded 9 percent equity interest under a joint operating agreement.

The award of block 01, which is expected to hold huge oil reserves than the rest acreages, confirmed fears of Nigerian oil firms led by Conoil, of multinationals dominating the JDZ 2003 Licensing Round.

While Chevron submitted a bid offer price of $123 million, Conoil offered $120 million. ExxonMobil on the other hand, had by the treaty guiding the management of the JDZ, been granted the 40 percent rights in block 01.