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Africa Oil Corp confirmed the completion of its takeover of Nigeria’s Prime Oil & Gas. With the completion of the amalgamation, Africa Oil’s main assets are an 8% working interest in Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) 52 and Petroleum Prospecting License (PPL) 2003, and a 16% working interest in PMLs 2, 3 and 4 as well as PPL 261.

Mainstream Energy Solutions Ltd  (MESL) has completed the latest turbine rehabilitation at Kainji, bringing installed capacity to 600MW. New capacity additions are also planned at the Niger River plant, which was non-operational when acquired by MESL in 2013.

Nigerian independent Seplat Energy has announced $320m of new investment this year as it bids to double production to 140,000 b/d, following its acquisition of ExxonMobil’s Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU). Previously an onshore operator, Seplat, which posted an almost doubling of profits in 2024, has gained significant offshore capacity through the completion of the MPNU deal.

With the full takeover of Nigeria’s Prime Oil & Gas, Vancouver-headquartered Africa Oil Corporation is looking to accrue strategic benefits from an enhanced position in West Africa, at a time when its exposure to offshore assets in Namibia has been pared back.

Nigerian National Petroleum Company’s logistics arm NNPC Shipping is partnering with Sweden’s Stena Bulk and the local Caverton Marine to create a new tanker operation which will target the West Africa region.

Nigeria LNG is reportedly due to pay at least $380m to compensate trading houses Vitol and Glencore over undelivered cargoes in 2020/21, following a Court of Appeal ruling in London.

Rumours are swirling that state-owned giant Nigerian National Petroleum Company is looking to replace long-serving group chief executive Mele Kolo Kyari. Others refute this, highlighting the good work being done by the incumbent, writes Leo Lawal in Lagos.

The latest financial results from international oil companies revealed that 2024 was a tough year for many of them, not least because of reduced refining margins. Many of the pressures are likely to continue in 2025, although there is plenty of exploration activity to keep most of them busy, writes James Gavin.

For Bola Tinubu, as for previous Nigerian presidents, one measure of success at overcoming the graft and mismanagement that have undermined the economy for decades will be his ability to halt systemic oil theft in the Niger Delta. Tinubu’s administration and military chiefs are setting drones and other technology to work, but whether they can overcome the usual vested interests to harness desperately needed higher revenue flows and investment remains to be seen.

Kenya-based PowerGen has secured funds to develop a 120MW portfolio of commercial and industrial (C&I) and off/metro-grid renewable power projects, with an initial focus on projects in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Longstanding Azura chief executive Alan Muir has stepped down, replaced by former chief commercial officer Dave Peacock, as the pan-African IPP looks to “broaden its horizons” by embarking on its first renewable and storage developments.

The 125,000 b/d Warri refinery in Delta State is once again processing crude oil, following a 26-month rehabilitation project carried out by South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering & Contracting. It comes a month after the restart of the 60,000 b/d Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State.

London AIM-listed Savannah Energy is aiming to complete construction work on the Uquo central processing facility project in Nigeria by year-end. Commissioning is to follow in Q1 2025 around the same time as it is due to secure full control of the Stubb Creek field. The positive developments in Nigeria are in contrast to the ongoing legal cases it is pursuing in Chad and Cameroon and a complex situation in South Sudan – but these issues could all be resolved by mid-2025.

Norwegian major Equinor has completed its exit from the Nigerian market, with the sale of its Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (Enec) subsidiary to the local Chappal Energies. Chappal will pay up to $1.2bn for a minority stake in the offshore Agbami oil field and operatorship and majority ownership of licence area OML 129.

Nigerian National Petroleum Company’s old Port Harcourt refinery is once again producing petrol, diesel and other products, as the veteran facility’s long-awaited rehabilitation process nears completion. Work continues on NNPC’s three other refineries, while the rival Dangote refinery continues to ramp up its operations.