Companies from Nigeria’s Renaissance Consortium discussed their evolving business portfolios and investment strategies at the African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies conference on Wednesday. 

Discussions explored the shifting dynamics in the Nigerian upstream sector, focusing on the trend of IOCs divesting shallow water and onshore operations in favor of deepwater acreage. The consortium includes ND Western, Aradel Holdings, the Petrolin Group, First E&P Development Company and Waltersmith Petroman Oil Ltd. 

“The opportunity to step into IOC shoes in shallow water and onshore is not easy. However, the beauty of divestment is, because it is onshore, the basic infrastructure is there. As indigenous players, it gives us the opportunity to demonstrate our local know-how and play to our strengths in terms of terrain,” said Olarewaju Daramola Aradel, General Manager – Commercial, Aradel.

The session emphasized the current exploration and production capacity of indigenous firms, with Nigerian independents carving out strong competitive advantages in shallow water operations and developing strategic capabilities that can be applied across the value chain. First E&P, for instance, represents the first indigenous company to develop a greenfield asset in Nigerian shallow water.

“We are deeply rooted in the science of the business. We look for technologies and development concepts that drive a UDC of $5 per barrel and a UTC of $15 per barrel. We are laser-focused on execution. This has created a competitive advantage in the shallow water offshore space,” said George Toriola, Chief Strategy & Operation Officer, First E&P.

Nigerian firms are driving significant increases in gas production and discussed plans to serve local and regional markets, with the potential to expand into midstream and downstream sectors in the future.

“We are the second-largest producer and supplier of gas to the domestic market in Nigeria, as well as regional sales to West Africa. We are currently producing 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day and have a work program where we intend to double that production,” said Lanre Kalejaiye, CEO of ND Western.

“We have grown from a strictly upstream business to an integrated company with viable business lines across the oil and gas value chain… We are investing in targeted, viable projects that translate our oil and gas resource base into midstream gas processing and gas exports,” said Oladapo Filani, CEO of Waltersmith Petroman Oil Ltd.