ExxonMobil Nigeria announces new chairman and managing director

ExxonMobil announced the appointment of Richard Laing as chairman and managing director of its three affiliates in Nigeria effective August 1st.

The three affiliates are Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East). These affiliates are involved in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, and operate several joint venture concessions and deepwater production sharing contracts which currently focus on major secondary oil recovery projects; natural gas liquids and gas monetization and significant investment in national content development.

Laing replaces Paul McGrath, who has been appointed vice president, Global Projects, for ExxonMobil in Houston, Texas, U.S.A., after spending more than three years in Nigeria.

Prior to his appointment, Laing was executive director of oil and gas production and related support groups for all of the ExxonMobil affiliates in Nigeria.

Laing joined ExxonMobil in 1989 and has held a variety of engineering, planning, safety and managerial positions in upstream and downstream operations while working in the U.K, Qatar, U.S. and Nigeria.

Laing holds a bachelor’s degree in Mining and Petroleum Engineering from University of Strathclyde, Glasgow and Master’s in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.