Richard Laing is the new Chairman & Managing Director of ExxonMobil affiliate Companies in Nigeria – Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited. He succeeds Paul McGrath as Chairman & Managing Director.
A native of Scotland, Richard earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining and Petroleum Engineering from University of Strathclyde, Glasgow in 1986 as well as a Master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh in 1989.
He joined ExxonMobil in 1988 as a Subsurface Engineer in Aberdeen. Over the following 15 years, he worked in a variety of engineering, planning, safety and managerial positions in Aberdeen, as well as the Leatherhead office in the United Kingdom.
In 2008, Richard assumed the role of Deputy Manufacturing Manager in RasGas, Doha, Qatar. Four years later, he became the Surveillance & Reliability Manager, Global Engineering, ExxonMobil Production Company (EMPC) in Houston.
In 2015, Richard was named Facilities Engineering Manager, EMPC. The following year, he became the Reliability, Integrity & Optimization Manager, and Upstream Operations, still in Houston. In 2017, he was appointed Executive Director & Production Manager in Upstream Nigeria, Lagos, a position he held until his appointment to his current role.
Richard and his wife have two children. He enjoys spending time with his family and playing golf.
