The current wind of divestments blowing across the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry will benefit a lot of people. In the first instance, it will foster the acceleration and indigenisation of the Oil and Gas value chain of the country. It would also speed up local content development in oil servicing capacity and manpower.
Secondly, and most importantly, most of the petrol dollars generated will remain in the country to boost our wiggling forex supply.
Unfortunately, the indigenous companies taking over these assets must have to grapple with most of the challenges that have for sometime bedeviled the sector, both locally and internationally. Challenges such as the international drought of investors, occasioned by global energy transition trends; insecurity, community restiveness, aging assets and pipeline vandalism.
The history of International Oil Companies’ (IOCs’) divestments dates back to 1991, during the regime of military Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida. It was facilitated by Prof Jubril Aminu, leading to the emergence of Muhammadu Indimi’s Oriental Energy as acquirers of Oil Prospecting Licenses (OPL) 124 and Mike Adenuga’s Conoil acquiring OPL 113. The next signpost activity that brought in local players into the industry was the sale of mining licenses for marginal field in 2001. However, the next major wave of divestments occurred between 2010 to 2014. This wave ushered in big industry players like Seplant, Oando and others, culminating in the acquisition of 12 Oil Mining Licenses (OMLs) amounting to $6.4 billion.
So far, a roll call of all the indigenous companies, both those who are the original owners of their mining licenses and those who acquired divested OMLs shows that, aside from Delta State, all other Niger Delta states are underrepresented. For instance, the major name associated with Aiteo is Benetict Peters, from Ebonyi State; Dr. ABC Orijako, from Anambra State, is the co-founder of Seplant. OML 60, 61, 62 and 63 were acquired by Oando Energy Resources, yet I am not aware of any state, or individuals from the Niger Delta owning controlling shares.
Since 2015, divestments have continued, but 2021 saw a major uptick in divestments activities, leading to what is arguably the largest divestments in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry, with Tony Elumelu’s TNOG Oil and Gas Limited acquiring 45 per cent stake of OML 17 owned by Shell , Total and Eni. The current production output of OML 17 is pegged at 27,000 BPD. While Mobil Producing Nigerian Unlimited (MPNU) is divesting all its assets, both oil and gas fields to Seplant, a wholly owned Nigerian company, listed both in London and Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Given the amount of agitation over resource control in the past, and very recently, over the the Petroleum Industry Act, one should think that our agitation would have transitioned to capacity building in order to fully participate in the ongoing divestments of OMLs within our domain.
It is indeed a shame that from my observation so far, core oil producing states and communities have taken the role of onlookers. I am very sure that the Federal Government did not bar Niger Deltans from preparing in advance for a time like this.
People in the Niger Delta seem to have acquiesced to a new status quo, where people are allowed to vandalize pipe lines and siphon crude for illegal refining sites, in spite of the monumental damage it is inflicting on forests, swamps, creeks and rivers, destroying means of livelihoods in the process.
Recently, the Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, announced that a policy is being put in place to guide the current wave of divestments to ensure that stem issues regarding assets decommissioning and abandonment.
Unfortunately, states in the Niger Delta seem oblivious to the trends, because I am yet to hear or read about any such policy statements from any state in the region. The only action is the case of Akwa Ibom State and Mobil; which is reactionary. In my considered opinion, Niger Delta is being left out by choice.
In the past, the only hope in local content development rising from the core Niger Delta was Monipulo, but since the demise of its founder, High Chief, Dr. O B Lulu Briggs, so much has not been heard of the company; especially as it concerns expansion and in playing a major role in this current wave of divestments.
Speaking in an event recently, the MD NNPC, Mele Kyari stated very clearly the intention of the Federal Government is to ensure that every divestment is made in such a way that it protects the interest of the country. He cited issues of capacity, competence and investment as necessary criterion for okaying any deal. This is good, but it does not in any way assuage my apprehension that the Niger Delta would receive the left foot.
Is there something we are not being told? Or, are we as Niger Deltans being given the short end of the stick again? Since the noise of this current IOCs divestments started sounding louder, I am yet to hear any of our big names, Edwin Clark, or any other notable names comment on it. Neither has the Ijaw National Congress or any group in the Niger Delta commented on the fact that a good number of the oil fields in our region is being divested from the IOCs to indigenous companies in which Niger Deltans might not have a major shares.
Another area that is shocking to me is that states in the Niger Delta, especially, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Delta are still unable to setup oil and gas producing companies of their own, individually; or create a special purpose vehicle for this laudable endeavour. How come in this day and age, after all we have been through as a people, we are still unable to get our act together and take those steps that will improve the wealth of our people?
Former President Obasanjo raised some dust, not too long ago, when he commented that the oil and gas in the Niger Delta belongs to the Nigerian state. As a lay man I struggle to understand how the governor of a state controls the land, but the FG is in charge of what is under; but this is the reality in the Niger Delta, even though no one has given us a clear idea as to how the revenue accruing from all the gold mined in Zamfara is shared. Unfortunately, it is what it is, and there is nothing we can do about it unless a semblance of balance is created in the the National Assembly.
As a keen observer, I am aware of the impact a company like Minipulo has made across the Niger Delta and the country at large. Here is an indigenous Niger Delta company, operating in the Niger Delta, paying its due to the Federal Government and serving its people.

By: Raphael Pepple