Long recognised as the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, the oil and gas sector has a big impact on the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and overall economic growth.
Oil was first discovered in commercial quantities in the 1950s, which was a turning point for the country because it propelled it onto the international stage and created enormous economic opportunities.
Oil and gas exports have historically made up a sizeable portion of Nigeria’s total income.
Sales of crude oil have provided funding for public services, infrastructure improvement, and government spending.
Additionally, the sector has promoted both direct and indirect job growth and attracted foreign direct investment.
The oil and gas industry, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, contributed 6.21% to real GDP in the first quarter of 2023.
A number of influential people have become well-known figures in the Nigerian oil and gas industry and are often referred to as “oil and gas barons.”
Through their business savvy and calculated investments, these individuals have reached the top of the sector, accumulating significant wealth and exercising significant influence.
Oil and gas barons have had a variety of roles in Nigeria, from owning and running businesses engaged in oil exploration and production to having a sizable stake in projects in the downstream and midstream.
This is a list of the most prominent oil company owners in Nigeria.
1. TY Danjuma
South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO), a business with a portfolio of excellent assets in West Africa, was founded by and is led by TY Danjuma. He was previously the defence minister of Nigeria and is a renowned businessman.
The UK-based BOC Holdings subsidiary BOC Gases Nigeria, which he recently acquired a 60% stake in, has been renamed Industrial and Medical Gases Nigeria.
He is one of the wealthiest men in Nigeria with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion, according to Forbes.
2. Aliko Dangote
With his most recent project, the Dangote Refinery, Nigeria’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, continues to make significant progress in the oil and gas industry.
When finished, the refinery, which will occupy a vast area of 6,180 acres in the vital Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos State, is anticipated to rank among the largest in the entire world.
It will be able to produce a variety of petroleum products, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), jet fuel, kerosene, petrol and diesel, at a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Over 250,000 direct and indirect jobs are anticipated to be created by the refinery, in which Dangote has invested almost $19 billion.
3. Adewale Tinubu
He serves as the Group CEO of Oando PLC, a business that offers integrated energy solutions along the entire value chain, from energy exploration and production to trading and distribution.
Oando PLC operates in 17 nations across Africa and is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
The company has grown to be a significant player in Nigeria’s energy market under Tinubu’s direction. Oando has driven innovation and pushed boundaries in the industry under his direction.
He owns 2,857,483,572 shares of Oando Plc, which brings his total shareholding to N16.8 billion.
4. Augustine Avuru
Avuru, a co-founder of Seplat, took over as CEO after a distinguished career at NNPC.
He demonstrated his leadership abilities by playing a crucial part in the company’s dual listing on the London and Nigerian stock exchanges.
In July 2020, he stepped down as CEO and joined Seplat as a non-executive director.
He has more than 38 years of experience in the oil and gas sector and holds a geology degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
5. Tope Shonubi
Shonubi, a co-founder of Sahara Energy, has a significant impact on the biggest privately owned, fully integrated power company in Sub-Saharan Africa (aside from South Africa).
Sahara Group operates in more than 40 countries and has a portfolio that includes Egbin Power Plc, Ikeja Electric, and First Independent Power Limited.
He also serves as a director of Sahara Group subsidiary Asharami Energy Limited, which specialises in upstream oil and gas exploration and production.
6. Gabriel Ogbechie
Ogbechie, the founder and group managing director of Rainoil Limited, has nearly three decades of experience in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
His purchase of shares in Eterna Oil Plc cemented his status as a significant player in the industry.
Additionally, he serves as the chairman of Brent Hotels Limited, which manages the Delta State location of the Best Western Plus Wetland Hotel.
He graduated from the University of Benin with a degree in mechanical engineering.
7. Alhaji Sayyu Dantata
Dantata, the creator of MRS Oil Nigeria Plc, has grown his business, the MRS Group, into a diversified conglomerate with a variety of interests, including Ovlas Trading & Supply, Corlay Global SA, and Koggi Shipping.
Additionally, he serves as chairman of MRS Holdings Limited, which is MRS Oil Nigeria Plc’s parent organisation.
He graduated from Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, with a degree in mechanical engineering.
8. Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi
Azudialu-Obiejesi, the creator of Nestoil, began working in the energy industry in the late 1980s.
Nestoil has developed into a top domestic oil and gas conglomerate, excelling throughout the entire energy value chain, under his inspirational leadership.
Additionally, he serves as chairman of OML 42’s operating company, Neconde Energy Limited, an upstream oil and gas firm.
His business administration doctorate is from the International School of Management (ISM), Paris.
9. Emeka Okwuosa
Okwuosa is the founder and chairman of Oilserve Nigeria and has achieved notable success in the oil and gas sector. Oilserve’s expansion into several African nations demonstrates its influence outside of Nigeria.
One of Nigeria’s top companies for oil and gas facility engineering, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance is Oilserve.
The Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System Phase II (ELPS II), the Obiafu/Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Gas Transmission Pipeline System, and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline Project are just a few of the significant projects that the company has completed.
10. Winifred Akpani
Akpani, who founded Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company, started out by supplying diesel to small businesses.
Her business now has a remarkable network of about 30 nozzle stations and a sizable storage capacity.
In accordance with a number of agreements with foreign oil companies (IOCs) doing business in Nigeria, Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company also engages in the lifting of crude oil.
In addition, Akpani founded and serves as managing director of Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Limited, a local exploration and production business with stakes in a number of Nigerian oil blocks.
11. Mike Adenuga
Adenuga, the founder of Conoil Producing, struck oil in significant quantities and achieved remarkable success.
His business was the first indigenous Nigerian business to use an FPSO (Floating Production Storage Offloading) vessel to operate an offshore shallow water block.
Conoil Producing produces more than 100,000 bpd of crude oil from six very promising blocks in the Niger Delta.
Beyond oil, Adenuga has significant stakes in the telecommunications industry through Globacom Limited, one of Nigeria’s top mobile network operators.
12. Benedict Peters
Peters, the creator of Aiteo Group, has had a transformative impact on Nigeria’s power, gas, and oil industries.
One of Africa’s fastest-growing integrated energy conglomerates, Aiteo Group has business interests in power generation, trading, marketing, storage, distribution, and retailing in addition to exploration and production of oil and gas.
OML 29 (Oil Mining Lease), one of Nigeria’s largest onshore blocks with a production capacity of more than 200,000 bpd, is operated by Aiteo Group.
The Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL), a 100-kilometer pipeline that carries crude oil from OML 29 to Bonny Export Terminal, is also owned by the company.
13. Dr. Bryant (ABC) Orjiako
Dr. Orjiako, co-founder and chairman of Seplat, brought his surgical training and experience to the company, which has helped it succeed.
Nigeria is the primary focus of Seplat, a top indigenous Nigerian oil and gas exploration and production company.
With a production capacity of over 60,000 bpd of oil and 400 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) of gas, the company manages six oil blocks in the Niger Delta area.
The Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) and Seplat’s joint venture, the ANOH Gas Processing Company (AGPC), will process 300 MMscfd of gas from the ANOH gas field.
14. Folorunsho Alakija
Alakija, who serves as vice chair of Famfa Oil, owns a sizable portion of the highly successful Agbami Oilfield.
Over 200,000 barrels per day of crude oil can be produced at the deep-water Agbami field in Nigeria. The Rose of Sharon Group, which consists of The Rose of Sharon Prints & Promotions Limited, Digital Reality Prints Limited, and The Rose of Sharon Foundation, was also founded by Alakija.
Her impressive career accomplishments are reflected in her impressive net worth.
15. Fredrick Obateru Akinruntan
Akinruntan is the founder of the Obat Oil Company, which has one of the biggest tank farms in Africa. The tank farm, which is situated at Ibefun along the coast of Ogun State, has a storage capacity of more than 65 million litres.
Petroleum products are imported and distributed throughout Nigeria by Obat Oil Company.
One of Nigeria’s top indigenous oil trading firms, Obat Petroleum, was founded and is led by Akinruntan.
16. AbdulWasiu Sowami
Influential businessman Sowami bought Forte Oil, renamed it Ardova, and cemented his position in the downstream industry.
One of Nigeria’s leading integrated energy companies, Ardova has more than 450 retail locations nationwide. The company provides a variety of goods and services, including lubricants, greases, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), solar power solutions, aviation turbine kerosene (ATK), automotive gas oil (AGO), and premium motor spirit (PMS).
Prudent Energy & Services Limited, a local oil trading business, is also run by Sowami.
17. Prince Engr. Arthur Eze
Eze is the CEO of Atlas Oranto Petroleum, the largest privately held company in Nigeria’s upstream industry. In addition to many other African nations, including Liberia, Guinea, Gambia, Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan, Uganda, and Liberia, Atlas Oranto Petroleum has a sizable portfolio of assets across Nigeria.
Over 100,000 barrels per day of oil can be produced by the company’s various oil blocks.
18. Audrey Joe-Ezigbo
Joe-Ezigbo, a co-founder and executive director of Falcon Corporation Limited, has made significant contributions to Nigeria’s oil reserves.
An indigenous business, Falcon Corporation Limited, offers a range of services to the oil and gas sector, including the development of gas infrastructure, the supply and distribution of gas, engineering design and construction, the purchase and installation of equipment, and project management.
With the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), the company has a 20-year concession agreement that allows it to run the Ikorodu Natural Gas Distribution Franchise Zone.
