ExxonMobil declares force majeure on Nigeria's Erha deepwater crude exports

Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria Limited, an affiliate of ExxonMobil, announced a force‑majeure declaration for crude exports from the Erha deepwater field after unexpected damage to the floating buoy that supports the Erha Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility. The incident occurred on 8 July 2026. The Erha field, located on Oil Mining Lease 133 about 100 km offshore in the western Niger Delta, can produce roughly 200,000 barrels of oil per day and is one of Nigeria’s key deepwater assets.

The company said it is actively working to restore export operations, has notified relevant stakeholders, and will provide regular updates. Analysts warned that a prolonged outage could cut Nigeria’s crude output, lower foreign‑exchange earnings and reduce government revenue that depends heavily on oil receipts.