Reasons have emerged why Belemoil Producing Limited based in Port Harcourt with assets in Kula jutting into the Atlantic Ocean in southernmost part of Rivers State, has handed the leadership (Chief Executive Officer, CEO) to a former top finance manager in the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC).
Belemaoil has steadily gained deep acceptability in the wombs of power in the oil power in Nigeria at the NNPC. The company had for years suffered for lack of attention from same NNPC before Muhammadu Buhari came to power, and things began to look up. The fortune seemed to have continued to this day, now with a technocrat with NNPC background as new CEO.
News filtered out late August 2024 that the Board of Directors of Belemaoil Producing Limited, indicated as a global indigenous oil firm operating in Rivers State, announced the appointment of a new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ahmadu H. Sambo (BSc, MBA, CPA) as well as a new Chief Finance Officer (CFO), Emmanuel O. Onos (Bsc, MBA, CPA) to drive the company’s transformation and realize its shared vision.
A statement said the approved the appointment of the duo, having carefully reviewed their rich credentials and found them deserving of the positions.
The statement revealed that Sambo was a former Group General Manager (GGM) in charge of NNPC Group Finance, and thus came on board Belemaoil with over 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry spanning public and private sectors in Nigeria and USA.
He was also indicated as haven served as Managing Director of three Subsidiaries of NNPC (NNPC Pension Fund, NIDAS Marine, and NNPC Oilfield Services), all in addition to the position of General Manager in charge of NAPIMS Finance and Accounts as well as Group General Manager Accounts for NNPC Group.
The board was said to be confident that under the leadership of the new MD/CEO, Belemaoil would derive significant benefits for its joint venture operations and shareholders.
The founder and now former CEO, Tein T.S Jack-Rich, hinted the reason for the change, saying the company was on a threshold of rapid recovery, transformational growth, and industrial boom to realize its shared vision and deliver superior value to shareholders.
He said the two appointees who are renowned finance experts and industry veterans, bring to bear in their new roles in Belemaoil an impressive combined experience of over 70 years and impeccable track records in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Jack-Rich explained that the move aimed to reset and revolutionize Belemaoil as a world-class E&P company, and to ensure that it becomes the best public enterprise for Nigeria and international equity investors.
He said Belemaoil, with over 1.2 trillion proven gas reserve, is now ready for multibillion-dollar cash flow and higher profitability for all shareholders, including the host communities as the Adamawa State born, U.S-trained finance expert took over leadership as MD/CEO of the company.
Belemaoil was already attracting frowns as the company’s headquarters on Peter Odili Road in Port Harcourt was looking in high need of action. The formerly bubbling place which held high hopes for people of the state and people from the riverine areas especially Kula areas but many projects in Port Harcourt appeared stalled while many workers left in droves. Many mouths claimed that the company was in dare need of financial reengineering and effective management. Many said they noticed frequent change of managing directors over the short period of about four years.
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At a point, the founder was seen in politics, offering himself for presidency but threw in the towel to the eventual winner. Soon, what appeared to be the brightest news flashed through the land as Belema won a right to own an export terminal, something seen as almost equal to Bonny terminal.
Breaking the news in June 2023, the NNPC said the licenses were approved and issued to Belema’s two companies in Abuja by Farouk Ahmed, Authority Chief Executive (ACE), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report, the licenses were the first set to establish crude oil terminals.
Speaking at the signing of the Terminal Establishment Licenses, Ahmed said the development would add more than four million barrels capacity to Nigeria’s Export Storage. The licensing was made possible by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in Section 174(1) (a).
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Insiders said the license granted to Belemaoil to build a crude oil export terminal in Kula end of the Atlantic Ocean could be a game-changer in Nigeria’s troubled crude oil export.
Details emerged to show how the license issued to ‘Belema Sweet’ or terminal to be located in Kula, Rivers State, would transform the export of crude oil from the Niger Delta.
The report quoted the then CEO of Belema (Jack-Rich Tein Jnr) to have lauded the Federal Government for facilitating business operations in Nigeria, saying the terminal would bring Nigeria to a global scale as high breed terminal.
He was reported to have added that the terminal had capacity to generate over $11 billion to the national revenue and over 400,000 barrels of crude daily with a storage point that could store eight million barrels of crude, and prospect of 100,000 jobs to be created.
Founder moves to fintech:
Many have wondered how Jack-Rich could stay off Belemaoil. Sources said two things would guarantee this. The first is that the fortunes that have come the way of Belemaoil may require top and deep players in the oil game to handle, because what matters to an investor is regular profit than total ownership.
The next point, BusinessDay gathered, is that Jack-Rich is heading to what might be a very exciting career in a new area of discovery for him.
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Before now, the founder is said to have been in deep trainings inside Harvard University, MIT, Stanford, London School of Economics. He is now also a graduate of Georgetown University, Washington D.C USA. With such huge training, “He will now focus on his vision for strategic multi-dimensional business development including lens in the Fintech space.”
The statement said the new move would; “Guarantee for strategic partnership with communities to foster financial inclusion, promote social good, peace and shared prosperity for national gain.”
The coming of Sambo along with the new Chief Finance Officer (CFO), Emmanuel Onos, who also comes on board with over 35 years of experience in the financial space of the oil and gas industry at the managerial level in both local and international scenes is no coincidence.
“The board believes strongly that the combination of Ahmadu Sambo as MD/CEO and Emmanuel Onos as CFO of Belemaoil, supported by the existing management team, will revitalize the company’s Joint Venture operations, unlock multibillion-dollar value and reposition it for a greater height that will be more beneficial to all shareholders.
“The Board considers the team as the perfect blend of skills and expertise needed to reset Belemaoil as a world-class E&P company and to ensure that Belemaoil becomes the best public enterprise for Nigeria and international equity investors.”
The Kalabari born Jack-Rich has reacted to the changes. In his remark, he said he believes in the MD/CEO’s enormous business management ingenuity as well as ability to steer the ship of Belemaoil to become the first truly indigenous oil and gas explorer and producer which emerged from an oil producing community in the Niger Delta, to be lunched in the Nigerian Stock Exchange Market as well as London and the New York Stock Exchange with overwhelming stock growth.
“We have no choice than to dream big and break new business boundaries beyond our eyes, for shareholders. I know our critics will say that this task is herculean. And I know you can deliver for yourself, for Nigeria’s sake, our investors, as well as the community that sees Belema as its model,” Jack-Rich stated.”
