US oil company ExxonMobil says it has made a "significant discovery" of oil off the coast of Nigeria.

In a tweet it says it could yield up to one billion barrels of oil.

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#JustAnnounced an oil discovery of between 500M & 1B barrels offshore Nigeria. Find out more here http://news.exxonmobil.com/press-release/exxonmobil-announces-significant-oil-discovery-offshore-nigeria …



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ExxonMobil operates the Owowo oil field, where the discovery was made, and owns just over a quarter of it, the AP news agency reports.

It adds that Nigeria's state oil company holds the majority share.

A worker inspect facilities on an upstream oil drilling platform

AFP

Nigeria's economy is heavily reliant on the proceeds from the oil industry
Rebels have carried out a spate of attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria to demand that poor communities benefit from the oil wealth.