Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Companies in Nigeria
Nigeria is the biggest producer and exporter of oil and gas in Africa. Nigeria’s oil reserves are as high as 35 billion barrels. Nigeria has over 150 oil fields and more than 1400 active wells. Most reserves are in the Niger River’s delta and at the coast.
Nigeria is home to many international oil companies. Some of these companies have filling stations all over the world.
Below are the top 10 oil companies in Nigeria:
1. Addax Petroleum A person putting gasoline on a car. Headquarters: Beijing, China Founded: 1994 Website: www.addaxpetroleum.com Addax Petroleum was established in 1994 and began operating in Nigeria in 1998. The company became a subsidiary of the Sinopec Group (one of the largest oil and gas producers in China) in August 2009. Sinopec Group is one of China’s largest oil and gas producers, the biggest oil refiner in Asia, and the third largest worldwide. They work with over 100 wells in Nigeria.
2. South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO) A crude oil rig station at sea. Headquarters: Odeku Street, Lagos, Nigeria Founded: 1995 Website: www.sapetro.com. South Atlantic Petroleum is one of Nigeria’s most prominent local oil and gas companies founded by Theophilus Danjuma in 1995. The company participated in developing the Akpo deepwater field off the coast of Port Harcourt.
3. Hardy Plc An offshore oil drilling station. Headquarters: London, United Kingdom Website: www.hardyplc.com Hardy Oil and Gas Plc was established in 1997. It changed its name to Hardy Plc in 2005. The British-based giant oil and gas company operates in Atala and Oza. It holds 20% of interest in these onshore oil fields and explores them with Bayelsa Oil Company Limited and Millenium Oil and Gas Company.
4. TotalEnergies A car refueling at a gas station. Headquarters: Courbevoie, France Founded: 1924. Website: www.total.com.ng. TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company. It was established in 1924 and began marketing its petroleum products in Nigeria on 1st June 1956. The company has a wide distribution network of over 500 oil stations in the country and also deals in power generation and chemical production.
5. Nexen Petroleum Nigeria Limited An offshore crude oil drilling rig on the ocean. Headquarters: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Founded: 1971 Website: cnoocinternational.com. The company is a subsidiary of CNOOC Limited. CNOOC Limited is a Chinese company with headquarters in Beijing, China. Nexen Petroleum Nigeria Limited has a 20% working interest in Usan and is developing the oil field alongside Esso E&P Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited, which is the oil field’s operator. Other partners in this project are Chevron Petroleum Nigeria Limited and Total E&P Nigeria Limited.
6. Nigerian Agip Oil (NAOC) An offshore crude oil rigging station. Headquarters: Rome, Italy Founded: 1962 Website: www.eni.com. NAOC is one of the largest oil and gas companies in Nigeria. Eni operates in the onshore and offshore areas of the Niger Delta through its subsidiaries NAOC, NAE, and AENR. Eni has been in Nigeria since 1962 through its subsidiary, Nigerian Agip Oil Company.
7. Shell Energy Nigeria Cars refueling at a gas station. Headquarters: Rivers, Nigeria. Founded: 1936 Website: www.shell.com.ng. Shell is one of the largest oil companies in Nigeria and a top player in the oil industry. It has been active and cooperating with the NNPC since 1937. Shell Energy Nigeria has four subsidiaries in Nigeria: The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria joint venture (SPDC JV) Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG).
8. Equinor ASA An offshore crude oil drilling Rig on a body of water. Headquarters: Stavanger, Norway. Founded: 1992. Website: www.equinor.com. Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is the biggest Norwegian oil company worldwide. The company has been in Nigeria since 1992 and has played a significant role in developing Agbami (Nigeria’s biggest deep-water field). Equinor has drilled 10 wells and invested over US$3.5 billion in Nigeria. The company is among the country’s biggest suppliers of refined products and has a 20.21% stake in the Agbami oil field. Chevron (the operator) has a 67.30% interest, and Prime 127 holds a 12.49% stake in this oil field.
9. Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL). Headquartered in San Ramon, California, USA, was founded in 1879. Website: www.chevron.com. Chevron Corporation is one of Standard Oil’s successor companies. It is one of the largest investors and oil producers in Nigeria. Chevron began doing business in Nigeria in 1913, dealing in oil, gas, and alternative energy sources. It operates in the onshore and offshore assets in the Niger Delta region as a joint venture of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
10. Exxon Mobil is Headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA, and was Founded in November 1999. Website: corporate.exxonmobil.com. The company commenced operations in Nigeria in 1955 as Mobil Exploration Nigeria Incorporated (MENI).
There are about 131 oil companies in Nigeria’s oil industry, including those in drilling and survey contractors.
Below is a list of petroleum and exploration companies in Nigeria. This list may not reflect recent changes.