Paul Lawrence Caldwell Jr. was Chairman/Managing Director of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (retired), MPN, (Operator of the NNPC/Mobil Joint Venture) and in-country Chairman of the ExxonMobil Companies in Nigeria. Paul retired from Mobil April 2001 and is active with his personal business.
Born March 1947 in Chandler, Oklahoma, U.S.A. Paul started school in 1953 at a one room school in the Sweet Home Community. He then went to Carney public school in 1957, when the schools were integrated where he finished in 1965, in a class of 6. Paul graduated in 1970 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Oklahoma State University and joined Mobil Oil Corporation the same year.
From 1970 to 1975, he undertook various engineering assignments in Petroleum and Process Engineering, designing, installing and starting-up thermal recovery facilities projects, including the San Ardo steam generator water treating plant in California. From 1977 to 1978, Paul was appointed Thermal Facilities Coordinator, supervising engineering design of thermal recovery facilities for all thermal recovery projects in the Denver Division of Mobil U.S. Exploration and Producing Division.
From 1978 to 1982, Paul held business-planning assignments in Denver and New York. He earned an MBA (August 1979) from University of Denver during this period. He worked in the corporate headquarters in New York City in the E&P Division’s business-planning department from late 1979 until end of 1981.
From 1982 to 1984, Paul proceeded to Mobil’s affiliate in The Hague, Netherlands as the Planning Manager. He was responsible for business planning and negotiation of several gas sales deals, including a $2 billion deal (over a 20-year period) with a European buyer. From 1984 to 1986, as Operations/Venture manager, Paul managed the design, engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of two gas production platforms in the Dutch offshore.
Paul became the Producing Operations Manager in charge of all oil and gas production in eleven states in the then Mobil Denver Division from 1987 to 1989. In 1990, he transferred to Mobil Oil Indonesia (MOI) as Vice President Production. MOI’s production totaled 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas a day, 120,000 barrels per day of condensate and 30,000 barrels per day of LPG. At this time MOI contributed about 20% of Mobil Corporation’s total after tax earnings. Pertamina, the Indonesian National Oil Company, awarded MOI the best producing company while Paul was responsible for the Company’s production.
Paul returned to the USA early in 1994 as Production Technology Manager at Mobil’s E & P Technology Center where he managed a 210-man technical organization engaged in research, development and technical support for Mobil’s Producing operations worldwide. During this time, Paul lead a team to prepare a fast-track development plan for the Zafiro oil field in Equatorial Guinea small west African country. From time of discovery, this project was appraised, facilities designed, constructed and installed, and the field was brought on-stream 18 months after discovery, in a record time.
He was transferred to Nigeria as Executive Director, Exploration and Production in October 1995 and was elevated to Chairman/Managing Director one and half years later. While in Nigeria, Paul was the chief facilitator of MPN’s continued leadership of the industry towards Zero-flare and production expansion. A strong advocate of technical excellence and development of Nigerians, he was also an active member of the National Vision 2010 Committee and a member of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.
Paul, in 2004, joined the Board of Directors of Emerald Energy Resources Limited and became the Senior Strategic Advisor, Operations to support Emerald in evaluating the potential of OML 141 (formerly OPL 229). He provides the full range of business planning, operations support and strategic input for the growth of Emerald.
A registered professional engineer in the states of California, Colorado and Oklahoma, Paul is also a member of many other professional bodies, including the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers respectively.
Paul’s various contributions to engineering practice and management, and leadership qualities earned him the prestigious U.S. Black Engineer of the Year Award in 1999.
Paul does E&P technical services work and individual management consulting through Caldwell Engineering & Construction.
He spends his leisure time, Fishing, and Hunting wild game. He is a tried and true farmer at heart and raises registered Angus cattle in Oklahoma. Paul is married to Mabel and they have 4 children, 4 grand-children and 4 great-grand-children in Oklahoma and California, with their youngest son attending OSU.