By Oluwayanmife Lucas

West Africa Exploration and Production Company (WAEP) has said it is stepping up efforts to unlock more than 1.6 billion barrels of oil in place across its Nigerian assets, with the Dangote Group’s upstream subsidiary targeting sustained production and gas monetisation within the next 24 months.

The company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Olajumoke Ajayi, said WAEP had adopted a phased strategy to revive production from its brownfield assets, generate early cash flow and reinvest the proceeds in wider field redevelopment.

Speaking at the African Oil Week (AOW) Energy Conference in Accra, Ghana, at a panel session titled: “The Future of the African Operator: Building the IOCs of Tomorrow,” Ajayi said the company’s Oil Mining Leases (OML) 71 and 72, previously operated by Shell, represented a substantial resource opportunity, with more than 1.6 billion barrels of oil in place and about 1.9 trillion cubic feet of gas, based on discoveries to date.

The session, which also featured Olumide Ogunfowora, Adegbola Adesina, Temitope Edun and Uduakobong Equere, examined how African owned exploration and production companies can develop the technical, financial and institutional capacity required to compete at scale and take a larger role in the continent’s upstream industry.  Ajayi, who is also President of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), later moderated a separate session, “The Nigerian Upstream Opportunity: Unpacking Nigeria’s Basins.”

For WAEP, she said, the immediate priority is to extract value from existing production opportunities while building the foundation for long term redevelopment.

“The first thing is to look at the low hanging fruit, the short term oil gains, generate cash flow from that, put it back into the assets and start redevelopment. And that’s exactly what is happening currently,” Ajayi said.

The strategy is already moving into the execution phase as Ajayi noted that WAEP had signed contracts for three jack up rigs, with drilling expected to begin in December as the company seeks to increase production and unlock additional value from the OML 71 and OML 72 portfolio.

“We will be drilling to ramp up production and also bring out the value in the asset,” she said. The drilling campaign is being supported by six field development plan studies currently under way, which Ajayi said would provide the basis for a series of “back to back developments” across the portfolio.

The combination of near term production opportunities, development drilling and field planning is expected to create a pipeline of activity beyond the initial drilling campaign. A potentially significant element of WAEP’s strategy is its relationship with Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, which Ajayi identified as a potential domestic market for the company’s crude.

“One of the shareholders, one of the partners on this asset, is the owner of the largest refinery in Africa, Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals. So the oil would definitely be needed by the refinery,” she said.

The relationship could strengthen the link between Nigerian upstream production and domestic refining at a time when the country is seeking to retain more value from its crude within the domestic energy system.

Ajayi said WAEP was also working towards establishing a dedicated terminal to support crude evacuation as production increases. The proposed terminal could potentially serve not only WAEP but other producers seeking to aggregate and evacuate crude, creating an additional commercial opportunity around the company’s infrastructure.

Ajayi said the evolution of African independent operators would ultimately depend on their ability to transform asset ownership into sustained production and value creation. For companies taking over mature or brownfield assets from international oil companies, she said, the challenge extends beyond reserves and licences to include technical expertise, capital deployment, operational discipline and the ability to sustain production.

That capability, she said, was central to WAEP’s strategy. “We need to put round pegs in round holes. We need to put the right skill and competence in the different units,” Ajayi said. She said the company had been deliberate about strengthening its technical and organisational capabilities as it prepares for the next phase of development.

Within the next 24 months, she expects the company to have significantly ramped up production while putting gas monetisation infrastructure and arrangements in place. “Between now and the next 24 months, gas monetisation would have been in place. We would have ramped up production consistently,” she said. “Not produce today, tomorrow you are down. Consistent, sustained production.”

By Oluwayanmife Lucas

Axxela Limited, a gas and power portfolio company in sub-Saharan Africa, has published its 2025 Sustainability Report, providing a comprehensive overview of the company’s environmental, social and governance performance across its operations during the year.

The report, themed: “Enabling Access, Deepening Impact”, highlights Axxela’s performance across key metrics and underscores its efforts to expand its infrastructure footprint, deepen stakeholder engagement and strengthen responsible business practices.

In the year under review, Axxela expanded its gas pipeline network by 39km, enhancing connectivity across Lagos, Ogun and Rivers states. The company also recorded zero fatalities and achieved 9.6 million Lost Time Injury (LTI) free man-hours across its operations.

In addition, the firm also strengthened its customer portfolio by connecting new industrial and commercial customers to its network. Other significant milestones include achieving Great Place to Work certification and receiving a Gold Medal rating in the EcoVadis Sustainability Assessment, placing Axxela among the top five per cent of companies assessed globally.

Commenting on the report, Group Chief Executive Officer, Axxela, Moshood Olajide, emphasised that the firm’s 2025 performance reflected the company’s commitment to responsible growth and long-term value creation.

“Expanding domestic gas utilisation remains central to our strategy. Each new customer connection supports cleaner and more efficient energy use, helping industries improve efficiency and reduce reliance on traditionally dirtier fuels. Our growth remains anchored in responsible infrastructure development and long-term value creation. We will continue to support Nigeria’s transition towards a more sustainable gas-powered economy,” he said.

The report also outlines Axxela’s approach to environmental management, including environmental monitoring, operational controls and rehabilitation programmes designed to minimise environmental disturbance and protect biodiversity.

The company maintained environmental compliance registers, conducted annual compliance audits and risk assessments, and carried out quarterly emerging risk scans across its operations and projects.

Axxela’s 2025 Sustainability Report, its ninth consecutive edition, was prepared in line with the core requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and builds on the reporting discipline and frameworks established over previous reporting years. The report highlights the company’s steadfast commitment to transparent disclosure, responsible business practices and long-term value creation, while detailing the progress, priorities and actions shaping its approach to sustainable and responsible growth.

• Fellowship submission deadline now November 30, 2026_