The Chief Executive of Heirs Energies, Osa Igiehon says he is optimistic that now is the best time for Nigeria oil and gas industry to thrive,flourish and experience unprecedented boom that will fast track the ongoing revival efforts of the Nigerian economy.
Mr Igiehon made this remark at the first informal media parley organised by the company to have an interactive session with Energy Correspondents and Editors at Heirs Towers situated at PLOT 107 B Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island Lagos.
Mr Igiehon spoke after a team presentation anchored by Executive Director/ CFO Stanley Nwanze and it focused essentially on the journey so far by the Company,the success,the challenges and the future .
On why he thought no better time than now for the players in the oil and gas industry, in Nigeria Mr Igiehon did a flashback to happenings within the industry more than three decades ago before coming to his conclusion. ( I looked at my over 30 years experience since 1994 in the industry,,I Iooked at all the conditions and I can say there have been fundamental shifts that have been made and I say boldly that no better time for oil and gas in Nigeria than now.The recent shift made was that of creating the right environment,the Presidential directives,the petroleum Industry Act ( PIA,) ,the improved security environment around the oil producing regions in the country and the partnership security have created a different dynamics ”
According to him,years past especially when Heirs Energies invested in the oil and gas sector nobody wanted to do Onshore as everybody was running away.But today things have changed.
In the words of Mr Osa Igiehon, the good performance record of Heirs Energies with the OML 17 has created a new template and a much more positivity around Onshore Nigeria. “We are pleased that we have not just turned OML 17 around for ourselves, for our joint venture partners and for the country at large because 55% of everything we do goes to the Federal government directly, also what we have achieved had a catalytic effect on the entire function in the industry and that created a lot of positivity in the country. People are copying what we have done and that’s why the contributions from the Onshore companies have increased.
Asked to comment on an operational challenge that the company will not want to go through again.His response was sharp in coming.”
For Mr Igiehon the massive level of Crude Theft that the company was confronted with shortly after taking over the asset was more than traumatic experience.
” I don’t think anyone would have wanted to have the Crude theft .it was an existential threat. It wasn’t just a challenge, it was a death sentence .That’s the best way to describe it but we are thankful to the government for the turnaround we have seen.
The peak of the Crude Theft was in December 2021 when we got just 3% of our volume of Crude production.”
He explained that as at today,the company gets about 100% of it’s production,describing it as a remarkable transformation which has not been seen in decades.
Mr Igiehon who started his oil and gas industry career in 1994 with Shell Company affirmed boldly that “what we have done is that we have essentially showed the example of what is possible in Onshore Nigeria”
He expatiate on how Heirs Energies was able to double production within the first 100 days of operation.
According to Mr Igiehon, what the company did was simple. “When we came in,there were less than 40 Wells that were producing,within 100 days we doubled the number of Wells that were producing and we got the result we targeted. It was a very focused programme and it was enabled by a team of dedicated workers with an unbroken team spirit from highly experienced staff that we have.more than that we redefine our relationship with the host communities and we dare to be bold where others are afraid to thread on”
Commenting on Reserves and what should be done.He affirmed that Nigeria should at this time increase her production capacity because there are more Reserves we have not found and these are resources that the nation needs.
In his view,”If we are to monetise what we have before the energy Transition,it means we have to increase production because as it is we are running against time and the imperative for Nigeria both short and Long term.is to increase production because our economy is tied to it,our long term sustainability is tied to it adding that though Reserves is good but production is important”
Turning to the Energy Editors and Correspondents,Mr Osa Igiehon commented them.for what he described as an “excellent relationship” that existed between them.and Heirs Energies in the past 4 years and still counting.
Expressing his gratitude for all they have done even when the company was yet to meet them officially to discuss about their journey before, he praised the media for their tireless efforts in shaping public opinion about events and issues that are of public interest especially with what they have done in promoting activities of Heirs Energies to various target audiences. He informed them.that very soon they will be invited to witness the commissioning of various ongoing capital projects at different locations within the company’s operational zone.
Before rounding up his remarks Mr Osa Igiehon used the opportunity of the media parley to showcase what Heirs Energies stand for.
“At Heirs Energies Energies we are a company defined by purpose and tenacity.we are a company that takes hold and move forward and not constantly retreating.we are always asking for perfection.we do not act because there are no challenges, rather we act in spite of challenges and we resolve them.That is who we are. That is the story of Heirs Energies”
Speaking on the company’s ambition,Mr Igiehon disclosed that “Our ambition is to take Crude production to 100,000 barrels per day.we know this will take us some years but that is our ambition .we are a very growth minded company. We are not caretakers.we are growers and that is the journey we are on.It is not going to be an easy journey but we shall March on”
The CEO went further “As we grow the oil,we are also going to grow the gas and after that we will grow our portfolio both in Nigeria and overseas”
He maintained that the great feat achieved by HEIRS energies in turning around OML17 has changed the narrative about how foreigners perceived Nigeria and her Onshore operations.
Mr Igiehon described Heirs Energies as the best in the use of Brownfield Approach “We are the Brownfield champions in Nigeria and possibly Africa though there is another company operating in the French speaking countries zone getting the same result as we are doing but that company have not shown it can repeat the result in the complex, social and political setting that we have and yet succeeded but they achieved their success under a peaceful environment.”
In closing,Mr Osa Igiehon summed up what to expect from Heirs Energies “We have shown everyone that we have Big ambition. But it is not just ambition but we have demonstrated track record to show that are going to attaint it”
As the media parley winds up not a few of the journalists present would forget the conviction and optimism displayed by Mr Osa Igiehon in the capacity of Heirs Energies and the human resources at it’s command to make things happen in a big way.He spoke not only with the undaunted courage of an unstoppable optimist,he displays the characteristics of those who always refuse to take NO for an answer no matter the challenges that are evidently obvious for all to see.Definitely,Mr osa Igiehon fits in to the inspiring quote of Courtney Paul,Bravo TV Fitness Royalty and Founder of the CP experience who described what to do for success to smile on someone “Success is achievable if one stays determined never to give up.When one door closes Break windows,Navigate through your journey of success knowing you will walk through sunshine and also have to weather the storms,keep the positive mindset to never give up
