Leading energy solutions provider Oando Plc has won the ‘Deal of the Year’ award at Africa Energy Week (AEW) 2024.
The Africa Energy Chamber (AEC), the annual week-long oil and gas conference organisers, hosted and recognised different stakeholders at a Gala and Award night held at the Cape Town International Conference Centre (CITCC) on Tuesday.
The company said that in a category comprising other high-profile deals in the sector and across Africa, Oando won the award in recognition of its recently completed landmark $783 million acquisition of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) from the Italian Energy firm Eni on 22 August 2024.
According to the oil firm, “This acquisition, 10 years in the making since Oando’s initial entry into the ConocoPhillips/NAOC/NNPC Joint Venture (JV) in 2014 when the Company acquired ConocoPhillips Nigeria business, doubled the company’s stake in the JV to 40% and operator of the assets.”
In receiving the award, the Company’s Group Chief Executive, Wale Tinubu, remarked, “We are delighted and honoured to receive the ‘Deal of the Year’ award from Africa Energy Week. It’s been a remarkable year on many fronts. First, we marked our 30th anniversary as a business, then concluded our strategic plan to acquire our second IOC in a decade, Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), and step up to the operator role.
“This award is more than just an accolade for a successful deal closure; it represents a public acknowledgement of the culmination of 30 years of grit, hard work, resilience, and sheer belief in our vision. It is a testament to my belief that with the #HumansOfOando, the impossible is nothing. I want to thank the dream team, the #HumansOfOando, our financiers, and partners for their belief and role in making this award a reality.”
With this year’s AEW theme of “Invest in Africa Energies: Energy Growth Through an Enabling Environment,” the AEC, through the AEW Awards 2024, recognised other persons, International oil companies (IOCs), and National Oil Companies (NOCs) across the continent through awards in 10 categories.
Tinubu also delivered a keynote address on transforming Africa’s Oil and Gas landscape through strategic Mergers and Acquisitions. During the address, he noted that Indigenous companies contribute approximately 30 per cent of the country’s crude oil production and hold around 40 per cent of the total oil reserves. Additionally, they account for 60 per cent of the country’s gas production and approximately 32 per cent of gas reserves. This data underscores the growing significance of local players in the African oil and gas sector.
