…CPI chronicled the journey from rise of Niger Delta Exploration and Production Plc, (now Aradel Holdings), to the birth of ND Western, Seplat, emergence of SEPNU and Renaissance.
…Renaissance aptly captures what is happening across the oil sector, a rebirth of ownership, confidence with national pride.
-Felix Douglas
“It fills me with deep pride and gratitude, 25 years is a full generation and given the life expectancy of many of us, 25 years is a real professional generation. So it is for the Center for Petroleum Information (CPI) and it’s no small achievement at all.”
These were the words of the Board Chairman of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, Dr. Layi Fatona as he delivered a paper on the topic: Year of Nigeria’s Changing Industry Landscape, a cause to Rejoice and the Question Mark at a book launch in Lagos.
Dr. Fatona told the enthralled audience that CPI was conceived at a time when the Nigerian petroleum industry was often told by others. Its founding vision was simple, yet it was very bold to own the narrative, to document evolution and serve as a trusted platform for knowledge sharing and knowledge exchange.
“Today as we celebrate this silver jubilee, we are also making the maturity of an industry that has weathered storms, adapted to change and continue to fuel the nation’s progress.”
The journey to 2025 when the CPI opened its doors in 2000, the global oil market was dramatically different. Oil was trading then below $30 per barrel. Operators deep water dreams were just beginning and indigenous participation in upstream operations was minimal.
According to the Chairman of Renaissance, there was quiet evolution. The first ever negotiated farm out agreement between Nigerian independent, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited and an international oil company Chevron NNPC-JV was negotiated.
This singular act, unprecedented at the time, broke open a tightly closed frontier and proved that Nigerian entrepreneurs could sit across the table from global natures and negotiate commercial, technical and operational equal terms. This pioneering partnership became the true forunner of Nigeria’s indigenous E&P Renaissance inspiring confidence in government and regulators to launch the 2003 marginal field allocation program.
From that point on, the doors were flung wide open for the emergence of today’s generation of Nigeria’s independent entrepreneurs who dared to step into spaces once reserved for the majors.
Dr. Fatona disclosed that CPI chronicled the journey from the rise of Niger Delta Exploration and Production PLC, (now Aradel Holdings), to the birth of ND Western, Seplat and so many other companies including the remarkable emergence of SEPNU and Renaissance.
These are the newest and most symbolic chapter in the continued transformation of the oil industry.
Specifically, 2025 is a significant year of transition and it stands as a watershed. Never before has Nigeria’s petroleum industry faced such a profound realignment as international oil companies, Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies are redefining their presence divesting onshore and shallow water assets and repositioning towards deep water and new energy frontiers.
This is not a story of departure rather it is a story of succession and renewal.
Dr. Fatona said the space has stepped a confident generation of Nigerian independence companies built by Nigerians, financed with capital realized in the country and staffed by indigenous professionals who once trained within those same international systems. Among these are SEPNU, Seplat and most recently, Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited. These are historic situations in the country. A consortium of visionary Nigerian partners now assuming operatorship of the assets once stewarded by ExxonMobil, Chevron and TotalEnergies. Renaissance is not merely inheriting infrastructure, same for SEPNU, they are only inheriting responsibilities for communities and production integrity for continued prosperity of the Niger Delta basin.
Renaissance aptly captures what is happening across the oil sector, a rebirth of ownership, confidence with national pride.
Lessons Learnt from the Past and Present
The Renaissance Chairman stated further that Nigerian petroleum industry has traveled a long road faced with price collapses, militancy, environmental scrutiny and policy uncertainty. Yet through all these, the indigenous entrepreneurial spirit had endeared and learnt that capital alone does not sustain an industry but character does.
Indigenous operators have learnt that technology without transparency is fragile.
“We have learnt that communities are not stakeholders to be managed. Indeed, they are partners to be respected today; we can say with quiet pride that Nigerian operators are not only competent, but also competitive.”
Nigerian operators drill, produce, some of them refines and many export, but more importantly they all reinvest. They create jobs, mentor new talents and keep lights of the economy burning.
“CPI, through its steadfast work in information creation and dissemination, has been both witness and chronicler of the evolution and has provided intellectual foundations upon which the next generation can stand tall and see further.”
How do we navigate the future?
Dr. Fatona told indigenous operators that the landscape ahead is challenging, the world’s energy narrative is changing rapidly towards carbon neutrality, renewable and the integration into the energy mix and digital transformations.
Africa’s reality remains unique as millions are still without access to modern or clean energy. Industries still hungry for power and economy is still reliant on hydrocarbons for survival.
“Our response must be pragmatic, not panicked. We must invest in gas as our transition fuel. We must deploy data and digital systems to optimize exploration and production and above all, we must build strong ethical institutions that will remain enduring and those that will uplift individuals and cycles that we have all experienced.”
Renaissance Africa Energy emergence offers a case study in this balance, a company born of transition, rooted in Nigeria’s ingenuity, yet forward looking enough to embrace environmental and social responsibility as central to its mission.
Policy Makers and Practitioners
Policy must be predictable. Fiscal terms must reward risk and innovation. Regulators must act as enablers not obstacles.
The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021 gave a new framework, but frameworks alone are inert unless animated by fairness and consistency. It must also strengthen education research and knowledge transfer, Dr. Fatona added.
The industry should see academia as partners and invest in them.
CPI has created a platform and should continue to champion it for the next 25 years.
A Cause to Rejoice
Indigenous operators are rejoicing that Nigeria holds the steering wheel of the oil industry. The industry has matured from dependence to self reliance.
“We rejoice that companies like Renaissance, SEPNU stand ready to prove that Nigerians can operate responsibly, efficiently, competitively and by extension, globally.”
This joy must be temper with responsibility to lead wisely, sustain value and ensure that the petroleum wealth of today becomes the foundation for the diversified economy that is hoped for tomorrow.
Dr. Fatona reiterated that as CPI is honoured at 25 the pillars and titans of the industry from its inception should be remembered.
Remembering men and women whose vision, intellect and commitment gave the sector its heartbeat. The late Chief Aret Adams, a pioneering spirit whose intellect and courage helped defines the earliest contours of Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
He spoke on Chief Chambers Oyibo whose clarity of thought and technical mastery elevated every conversation CPI have had in all the series of its enterprise.
Dr. Fatona eulogized Victor Eromosele that his financial wisdom illuminated countless CPI sessions and members who voiced their opinions.
“Over the years, members have fielded CPI dialogue sessions with vibrant debate, evidence and wisdom contributions. You acted as discussants and presenters who made each gathering not just an event but a classroom of national reflection. Your legacies live on in the pages of CPI publications.”
“In the archives of his conversations and in the maturity of the industry, we now celebrate from here the next 25 years must be about integration, linking energy with industry, oil and gas with opportunity and information with innovation. I stand before you not only as a witness to this history that we are celebrating today, but as one profoundly grateful to have worked alongside all the giants that I’ve mentioned.”
He was of the opinion that the creation of Renaissance in 2025 is a cause to rejoice and rededicate to an industry that remains the heartbeat of the nation’s progress.
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