Conoil Producing, led by Nigerian billionaire Mike Adenuga, has launched and exported Nigeria’s latest crude oil grade, the Obodo blend — marking a new milestone for the nation’s energy industry.
Extracted from the onshore OML 150 block, Obodo is a medium sweet crude developed under a production sharing contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The debut shipment was completed by Oando Trading, the trading arm of Oando Group led by Wale Tinubu, aboard the vessel Atlantic Spirit. The operation was made possible through the coordinated efforts of Century Ports and Terminals, which facilitated the loading process via the Tamara Tokoni, a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel.
“Congratulations to Dr. Mike Adenuga (GCON) and the entire CONOIL team for successfully producing OBODO Crude, Nigeria’s newest medium sweet crude grade blend,” said Wale Tinubu. “Hats off to Century Group, as well, for making history as the country’s leading indigenous FPSO operator. We’re honored to have played a part in this chapter of your story by lifting the first cargo for international export on board the Atlantic Spirit — a bold leap for indigenous excellence on the global energy stage.”
The OML 150 block is operated by Continental Oil & Gas Limited, a subsidiary of Conoil Producing, which currently manages six oil blocks across the Niger Delta. This achievement highlights the growing capability of Nigerian-owned firms in upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors.
It’s a continuation of Mike Adenuga’s decades-long commitment to indigenous energy leadership. In 1991, his company, then Consolidated Oil, became the first Nigerian firm to strike and commercially produce oil in shallow waters off Ondo State. That early success set the stage for Conoil’s rise to prominence, with current reserves exceeding 400 million barrels of oil and 1.8 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Adenuga’s impact also extends downstream. Conoil’s oil marketing division saw its revenue jump from N201.4 billion ($125.3 million) in 2023 to N323.2 billion ($201 million) in 2024, while profits rose from N9.9 billion ($6.15 million) to N11.4 billion ($7.1 million).
As Nigeria pushes to boost oil output by an additional one million barrels per day, the synergy between Conoil Producing, NNPCL, Oando Trading, and Century Group signals a future where indigenous firms lead from the front in global energy markets.
