Exxon Mobil signs 20-year field leases in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s state-run oil company says Exxon Mobil Corp. has signed 20-year leases on three major oil fields in the West African nation.

A statement Wednesday from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. said Exxon Mobil and the government reached a “mutually fair agreement” on the leases. The company said the fields produce about 500,000 barrels of oil a day after the work of Exxon Mobil there.

An Exxon Mobil spokesman in Nigeria could not be immediately reached for comment.

The announcement comes amid a yearly oil and gas conference in Nigeria’s capital Abuja. It also comes after strained negotiations between the government and Exxon Mobil.