Heirs Energies ramps up oil production to 53,000bd

…Oil revenue crucial for diversification, development – Elumelu

Within four years of operation, Heirs Energies has ramped up its oil production to 53,000 barrels per day, making it one of Nigeria’s leading oil and gas producing companies.

BusinessDay reports that the company plans to increase production to 100,000 barrels per day within the next few years.

Tony Elumelu, founder and chairman, Heirs Energies stated this at the Company’s 2025 Petroleum Industry Leadership Forum in Abuja, emphasising that Nigeria must raise oil production substantially to earn revenues needed for development.

Established in January 2021, Heirs Energies emerged following a significant transaction involving the acquisition of oil licence OML17 from major players in the industry, including Shell and Total, marking its entry into the Nigerian energy industry.

“Today, we produce over 53,000 barrels of oil daily, and we are one of the leading indigenous oil and gas producers in Nigeria,” Elumelu stated.

He expressed his belief that Nigeria requires substantial investment in the oil and gas sector, which he cited as one of the reasons for his transition from core banking to the energy industry.

The forum held under the theme: “Nigeria’s Oil Production Growth Roadmap Acceleration Imperatives” and had many dignitaries in attendance to discuss how Nigeria can quickly ramp up oil production to at least to 2.7 million barrels per day (mbd).

Key industry players in attendance were: Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil); Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC); Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Chairman of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries Board of Governors; Osa Iglehon, CEO Heirs Energies, among others.

Elumelu, who also serves as Chairman, UBA and Transcorp Group, emphasised that despite ongoing global discussions about energy transition, Africa’s immediate priority must be energy security to spur development.

“Energy investment is critical, it’s what we need. We cannot industrialize Africa, Nigeria, without improving access to energy and electricity in particular,” he stressed.

He recalled how Nigeria’s oil output which dropped to below one million barrels per day (bpd) under former President Buhari, had reached 1.8mbp – though “it is still below OPEC quota, and does not meet expectations for the country’s potentials.”

He attributed the improvements in oil production to the ongoing reforms initiated by President Tinubu’s Administration, driven by incentives established through Executive Orders.

Read also: Higher oil output key to Nigeria’s economic growth – Elumelu

“We want to take production to over 2 million. We know that we need oil money to diversify Nigeria away from oil. And we need to have the money to help develop our country”, Elumelu stated.

“With this conversation, the policy makers and industrial leaders are discussing how we can coalesce, and cooperate and collaborate, which we need in this sector. We think we can do more, and ultimately we will do so”, he added.

He stated that Nigeria could achieve its target of 2.7mbp, but “this is contingent upon prioritising production, security, and investment.”

Elumelu highlighted Heirs Energies as a success story for indigenous operators, noting that with adequate support, the company had boosted production at OML 17 from 21,000 barrels per day under Shell to 53,000 barrels per day presently.

He noted that significant changes had taken place in Nigeria’s petroleum sector over the past 12 months, however, gas supply is constraining power generation.

He said for instance, Transcorp is the leading power-generating company in Nigeria with an installed capacity of 2,000 megawatts, but constrained by gas.

“Our goal is to increase gas production in Nigeria as we increase oil production. Gas will help industries to produce and enable power companies like Transcorp to generate more electricity.”

Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), expressed optimism that the country would achieve its 2.06mbp oil production target for the 2025 national budget, bolstered by an increase in output to 1.8mbp recorded in January.

He remarked that upon taking office, oil production had plummeted to approximately one million barrels per day, and attributed recent improvements in output to effective policy reforms and strengthened security measures in the Niger Delta region.

He emphasised the renewed influx of investment into Nigeria’s oil sector, pointing out that the industry had faced a decade-long struggle with inadequate funding.

The Minister underscored that President Tinubu’s strategic leadership had effectively eliminated bureaucratic hurdles in the approval process for oil and gas contracts.

He revealed that prior to the President’s intervention, contract approvals in the sector could take up to three years. However, with the introduction of new Executive Orders, approvals for contracts valued below $10 million are now solely within the authority of operators, significantly expediting the process.

Lokpobiri also noted that the deployment of technology had addressed inefficiencies, akin to OPEC’s regulatory framework, facilitating real-time monitoring of terminal operations and financial transactions.

He noted that enhanced collaboration between the Government and industry stakeholders had prompted international oil companies, such as Shell, to reinvest in significant projects, including the long-stalled Bonga field.

Gbenga Komolafe, CEO, NUPRC, announced that Project 1 Million Barrels Additional Production, launched in October 2024, “is already delivering results, with daily output rising from 1.5mbd to 1.75mbp.”