After Dangote, Another Nigerian Billionaire Strikes Mega Oil Deal With Venezuela

After Dangote, Another Nigerian Billionaire Strikes Mega Oil Deal With Venezuela

  • Atlas Oranto Petroleum International Limited has expanded its worldwide reach with the signing of an oil exploration deal in Venezuela
  • With this recent development, Oranto Petroleum Limited has beguns its expansion into North and South America
  • The joint venture will install, convert, and purchase oil production infrastructure during the next three years

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

With the signing of an oil prospecting deal in Venezuela, Atlas Oranto Petroleum International Limited (AOPI), an oil and gas company focused on oil drilling, has broadened its global reach.

Another Nigerian Billionaire Strikes Mega Oil Deal
Oranto was awarded two petroleum exploration licenses in 2017 for Uganda's Ngassa Deep and Ngassa Shallow contract areas. Photo Credit: Arthur Eze, Tyler Stableford
Source: UGC

AOPI is composed of Atlas Petroleum International Limited and Oranto Petroleum International Limited.

The company, fully owned by Prince Arthur Eze and his family from the Kingdom of Dunukofia, reportedly represent Africa's largest privately held, Africa-focused exploration and production group by acreage.

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What the new deal means

This marks the start of Oranto Petroleum Limited's growth into North and South America, according to firm chairman Prince Arthur Eze, who signed the deal in the presence of Nicolas Madura, the president of Venezuela.

Prior to the Venezuelan agreement, Oranto Petroleum has maintained position as a significant player in the oil industry in Senegal, Uganda, Mozambique, Cote d'Ivoire, and other countries.

The initial agreement for the Ngassa Shallow and Deep regions in the western Hoima and Kikuube districts was inked in 2017, but Uganda gave Oranto Petroleum an extension of that license last year, extending it by two years beyond December 29, 2023.

Two petroleum exploration licenses for Uganda's Ngassa Deep and Ngassa Shallow contract areas were granted to Oranto in 2017.

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The Venus oil discovery in Block P, Equatorial Guinea, was announced by Atlas Petroleum International Limited in collaboration with Vaalco, the Operator, and Guinea Ecuatorial de Petroleós Co. (GEPetrol), the state-owned oil corporation of Equatorial Guinea that represents the state's interests.

Over the following three years, the joint venture will install, convert, and buy oil production infrastructure. It is anticipated that Venus field operations will add 23.1 MMbbl of oil to 2P gross reserves.

The partners anticipate that once the two development and injector wells are completed, the field will produce roughly 15,000 gross barrels of oil per day.

Dangote refinery secures crude oil supply agreement

Legit.ng earlier reported that Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of TotalEnergies, announced that the leading French energy company, had finalised an agreement to supply the Dangote Refinery with crude oil.

The announcement followed a meeting with Aliko Dangote, the refinery's major owner and Africa's wealthiest individual.

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Dangote has been working to obtain crude oil for his refinery, which, once fully operational, would be the largest in Africa and Europe, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Zainab Iwayemi avatar

Zainab Iwayemi (Business Editor) Zainab Iwayemi is a business journalist with over 5 years experience reporting activities in the stock market, tech, insurance, banking, and oil and gas sectors. She holds a Bachelor of Science (B.sc) degree in Sociology from the University of Ilorin, Kwara State. Before Legit.ng, she worked as a financial analyst at Nairametrics where she was rewarded for outstanding performance. She can be reached via zainab.iwayemi@corp.legit.ng