By Adedapo Adesanya
ExxonMobil has announced the appointment of Mr Richard Laing as 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).
The United States domiciled oil and gas giant made the announcement on Saturday in a statement titled ‘ExxonMobil Nigeria names new chairman and managing director’.
It said effective August 1, 2020, Mr Laing replaced Mr Paul McGrath, who had been appointed to the position of Vice President of Global Projects for ExxonMobil in Houston after more than three years in Nigeria.
The company said prior to his appointment, Mr Laing was executive director of 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,” Mr Laing was quoted as saying.
According to the statement, Mr 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 United Kingdom, Qatar, US and Nigeria.
“Laing holds a bachelor’s degree in mining and petroleum engineering from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow as well as a master’s in petroleum engineering from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh,” it added.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Aduragbemi Omiyale