New discovery cements Nigeria’s Oil, Gas leadership in Africa

By Onu Okorie

Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited’s latest hydrocarbon find has further placed Nigeria as a leader in the oil and gas industry in Africa.

The company on Tuesday announcement a significant discovery from the successful delivery of the JK-004 exploration well, located in shallow waters offshore Nigeria in Oil Mining Lease 74.

The leading African oil and gas exploration and production company said in a statement that preliminary evaluation indicated that the JK-004 well encountered approximately 1,000 feet of hydrocarbon-bearing column across seven reservoirs. It added that initial log interpretation and fluid analysis confirmed excellent reservoir quality and light oil.

Speaking on the first exploration execution milestone under the company’s refreshed exploration strategy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance, Tony Attah, described the discovery as a reflection of the company’s determined effort and the dedication of its staff, partners, regulators and contractors to advancing the nation’s goal towards sustainable long-term liquids production.

Attah said the success of JK-004, achieved just over a year after the company assumed operatorship of the assets, demonstrated the strength of its exploration programme. He commended the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission NUPRC, adding that the exploration performance reflected collaboration with the company’s joint venture partners, comprising the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited NNPC, TotalEnergies Limited, and Agip Energy and Natural Resources.

According to Attah, the NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, and the Executive Vice President, Upstream, Udobong Ntia, provided the needed strategic guidance with commitment to value delivery across the joint venture assets.

Vice President Exploration and Chief Explorer at Renaissance, Dr. Johnbosco Uche, attributed the exploration success to the company’s subsurface excellence, technical rigour, and disciplined approach to reserve replacement. He said the JK-004 well provides a strong foundation for accelerated maturation with clear pathways to early development and value realisation, adding that the strategic location of JK-004 near an existing field would enable rapid commercialisation.

The Commission Chief Executive of NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, described the feat as a perfect alignment with the commission’s vision of growing the nation’s reserves to future-proof sustainable national growth. She also pledged to continue building the enabling regulatory environment required to support the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Reacting to the development, renowned Nigerian explorationist and industry veteran, Dr. Layi Fatona, said the discovery was a testament to the enduring prospectivity of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon basins and the importance of disciplined and technically grounded exploration. 

Fatona, who is also chairman of the Renaissance Board of Directors, noted that the success of the exploratory effort clearly showed that indigenous operators play a critical role in unlocking value, driving investment, and contributing meaningfully to national energy security and economic growth.

Also speaking, NNPC’s EVP Upstream, Udobong Ntia, congratulated the Renaissance joint venture team for safe execution and for supporting NNPC and the nation in their sustainable growth ambition, adding that the Ojulari-led NNPC would intensify its support to balance reserve replacement as demonstrated in this instance.

Renaissance, recently named Africa’s biggest oil and gas company by Wood Mackenzie, operates Nigeria’s largest upstream joint venture, consisting of 18 Oil Mining Leases, two export terminals, and one floating production, storage, and offloading vessel in shallow waters offshore in the Niger Delta.