Energy
Oando Aims to Boost Output by 300%, Raise $750m for Oil Drilling
Oando Plc plans to raise up to $750 million this year for a drilling campaign that could boost output by 300%.
The oil and gas company is hoping to tap the improved investor appetite for West African producers amid turmoil linked to the Iran war, its Chief Executive Officer, Wale Tinubu told Reuters.
Oando is among a handful of local companies that have snapped up assets from oil majors in the past decade as they exit Nigerian onshore.
This year, surging energy prices should open more funding sources for producers in the region, Tinubu said
“We are pushing very, very hard towards getting the financing that we need to do an extensive drilling campaign,” Tinubu said.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer, with crude and condensate output of around 1.6 million barrels a day.
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Oando, whose production averaged just over 32,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in fiscal 2025, aims to drill as many as 100 wells to boost output, particularly from assets purchased from Western majors ConocoPhillips and Eni (ENI.MI), opens new tab.
While in the past the company had struggled with securing cash for drilling due to investor worries that Africa was an “unsafe environment”, the Iran war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have shifted that view, Tinubu said.
“Africa is very, very peaceful compared to these regions,” he said.
Already, Tinubu said there was a shift in demand for Nigeria’s crude, with more cargoes sailing to Asia to replace Gulf oil trapped due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Oando has raised $3 billion-$4 billion in the past decade, much of it from European banks, the CEO said, the bulk of which went toward acquisitions.
European banks had now almost completely withdrawn from African hydrocarbons due to climate concerns, he said, pushing Oando to funders including the African Export-Import Bank and the African Finance Corporation, and to oil trading houses including Vitol, Trafigura, Glencore and Mercuria.
However, Africa needed more “substantial long-term funding”, he added.
More Gulf banks were interested in hydrocarbon projects in Africa and more parties were joining their syndications, while private equity funds and hedge funds were also more active in funding African energy, he said.
Oando recently expanded into Angola, and Tinubu said they are exploring opportunities in Ghana and Ivory Coast. Africa should pool capital available at home, via pension funds and other sources, to fund large-scale capital projects, he added.
Geopolitical turmoil will have “long-reaching strategic implications for global energy security”, he said, and keep focus on West Africa’s reserves.
“Even if the ceasefire lasts, which, hopefully it will, it wouldn’t change the fact that consistently, you’re going to find disruptions,” he said.
Nigeria, Tinubu said, was well placed to draw funding after a landmark 2021 overhaul of its hydrocarbon law and reforms by current President Bola Tinubu, his uncle, to currency and costly petrol subsidies.
The new 650,000 barrel-per-day Dangote oil refinery on the outskirts of Lagos, Tinubu said, highlighted the value of Nigeria’s resources.
Tinubu, whose company was once among the nation’s largest fuel importers, said imports were now only needed to test for pricing or during refinery maintenance.
Longer term, Tinubu hopes to exploit some of Oando’s own gas production for petrochemicals and fertilizers to further boost the value added to Nigerian resources.
The company was working to “streamline” financials to avoid further delays in filing audited statements with the Nigerian Exchange after deadline extensions, which opened a new tab in recent years.
In August, Oando’s board signed off on a proposal to launch a multi-instrument issuance programme of up to $1.5 billion.
The $800 million Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Ima Gas Project (IGP) has been described as a landmark development that affirms the growing viability of Nigeria’s upstream gas sector.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) flaunted the project, located offshore in OMLs 112 and 117 and developed by AMNI International in partnership with TotalEnergies, noting that it will produce about 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day at peak.
It added that the output will supply critical feedgas to the Nigeria LNG Limited in support of its Train 7 expansion, which will increase capacity at the Bonny Island plant from 22 million tons per annum to 30 Mtpa.
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This was detailed in a statement in which the state oil major stressed that the FID was enabled by the presidential directives of 2024, which provided fiscal incentives for non-associated gas, streamlined contracting and lowered development costs.
Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd, Bayo Ojulari described it as “a decisive vote of confidence in Nigeria’s gas sector and in the bold reforms” that have created competitive terms and a predictable investment environment.
The NNPC Ltd also commended the collaboration between AMNI, TotalEnergies and the Nigerian financial sector, saying the model of indigenous operator, international partner and domestic capital is a template for future developments.
“NNPC reaffirms its commitment to work with government, regulators and industry partners to sustain investment momentum and deploy Nigeria’s gas resources for industrialisation, job creation and long-term prosperity,” the statement added.
Nearly 20 years after the Federal Government awarded the contract for the 330kV Ikot Abasi Transmission Line, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) has turned to the Akwa Ibom State Government to break a N4 billion compensation deadlock threatening the completion of the strategic power project.
The transmission project, awarded in 2006 under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), has remained stalled primarily over unresolved community and wayleave compensation issues.
But, to ensure the completion of the project, NDPHC Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Adighije, is now seeking the intervention of Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, to clear the outstanding issues and enable the contractor, Anit Energy, to return to site.
Adighije made the appeal during a courtesy visit to the Governor in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
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She disclosed that the latest valuation of the outstanding wayleave obligations was slightly below N4 billion.
The NDPHC boss said the prolonged delay was particularly concerning because the contractor had reportedly completed about 90 per cent of the engineering, procurement and construction procurement for the project.
She added that substantial project materials, including conductors and tower members worth millions of dollars, had already been deployed along the project corridor between Adiasim and Ikot Ekpene, but were still lying across communities as the impasse persists.
“We are therefore pleading for your kind intervention as a shareholder and board member of the company,” Adighije told the governor.
According to her, resolving the outstanding community issues would allow the contractor to remobilise to site and bring the long-delayed project to completion.
NDPHC is now targeting May 29, 2027, for commissioning of the transmission line, subject to the successful resolution of the outstanding compensation and community challenges.
Adighije said NDPHC was keen to support the state’s development ambitions through its role as a major interventionist agency in Nigeria’s electricity sector.
“We want to be part of your ARISE Agenda,” she said, referring to the governor’s development programme.
She also welcomed the establishment of the Akwa Ibom State Electricity Regulatory Commission, saying NDPHC had commenced discussions with the commission on the development of appropriate electricity-market frameworks for the state.
According to her, officials of the commission had visited NDPHC and requested information on the company’s projects in Akwa Ibom, while a joint working group was being established to examine how the assets could be better utilised and electricity access extended to underserved communities.
Also speaking, NDPHC Executive Director, Strategy and Commercial, Mr. Patrick Obahiagbon, commended the Governor’s administration for its development initiatives across the state.
Responding, Governor Eno welcomed the NDPHC initiative and pledged to take the Ikot Abasi project before the State Executive Council for consideration. The governor said the state government would examine the outstanding issues and determine how it could intervene to facilitate the completion of the project.
There are indications that the Nigeria-Libya Gas Pipeline would go from the drawing board to reality, as it has emerged as a major option to help Nigeria break into new markets for her gas reserves.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, disclosed this at Gastech 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand, during a high-level engagement with global energy companies, investors and governments on expanding Nigeria’s gas production, infrastructure, domestic utilisation and export markets.
The renewed push for the Nigeria-Libya pipeline topped the agenda for the meeting between Ekpo and Libya’s Minister of Oil and Gas, Dr Khalifa Rajab Abdulsadek.
Under the proposed framework, Nigeria and Libya are expected to explore a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and establish a joint technical team to assess the feasibility, financing, infrastructure requirements, security considerations and commercial viability of the project.
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The NNPC Limited is expected to spearhead Nigeria’s participation in the bilateral initiative. If developed, the pipeline would provide another potential route for transporting Nigerian gas through North Africa to European markets, giving Nigeria an additional platform to monetise its gas resources beyond existing LNG channels.
According to Ekpo, the Federal Government was determined to create an investment environment capable of attracting the capital, technology and strategic partnerships required to convert the country’s gas reserves into economic growth, industrial development and jobs.
“Nigeria is open for business. We have put in place the right fiscal policies and operating environment, and the security of investors and their investments is guaranteed,” he said.
He revealed that the NNPC Limited would play a central role in translating Nigeria’s bilateral energy engagements into commercially viable projects, strategic investments and sustainable development.
The minister’s engagements also revealed plans by major industry players to significantly ramp up domestic gas production and infrastructure.
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