ExxonMobil Nigeria appoints new chairman, MD

ExxonMobil has announced the appointment of Richard Laing as its new Chairman and Managing Director of its three affiliates in Nigeria: Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East), effective August 1.
 
Laing replaces Paul McGrath, who has been appointed Vice President of Global Projects for ExxonMobil in Houston, after more than three years in Nigeria.
 
Prior to his appointment, Laing was Executive Director, Oil and Gas Production and related support groups for all of the ExxonMobil affiliates in Nigeria.
 
“It is a privilege to lead the ExxonMobil team in Nigeria, and build on the work that Paul McGrath has done over the last three years. I look forward to the work that lies ahead and continuing the company’s outstanding relationships,” Laing said.
 
He 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 United Kingdom, Qatar, United States, and Nigeria.
 
Laing holds a bachelor’s degree in Mining and Petroleum Engineering from University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, as well as a master’s in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.