30 August 2013, News – Nigerian banker and philanthropist Tony Elumelu has made a “substantial” investment in Seadrill’s Nigeria unit, a company statement claims.
The “Pan-African” investment company, Heirs Holdings, did not divulge details on its participation in the Seadrill Mobil Units offshoot of the drilling contractor but said Elumelu had been appointed chairman of the board for the local unit.
“The partnership makes strong commercial sense, bringing together a major global player and a leading African participant in the oil and gas industry,” Elumelu said in a statement.
“Successful development of Nigeria’s deep water oil and gas fields is of strategic importance for our country.”
Seadrill for its part said the partnership “creates the right mix of global technical expertise, backed by operational excellence and sound financial management to the Nigerian market,” Svend Anton Maier, director of the Nigerian arm, was quoted as saying by Heirs Holdings.
“It positions the company as a local industry leader and a truly indigenous player,” he added.
Affiliates of Heirs Holdings have already invested in two oil producing licences, including Transcorp in OPL 281, an “onshore oil field with substantial gas reserves” and Tenoil’s participation in OPL 2008, poised for a 2014 production start, according to the fund.
Seadrill could not be reached by Upstream to comment or confirm the investment details at the time of publication.
– Upstream