Oil and Gas
Amni International Petroleum Development Company Limited
Amni Petroleum’s Secret To Success Through a pragmatic approach to business and concentration on community, Amni Petroleum has paved the road toward a future full of success in the oil and gas sector.
NIGERIA
NEXT LEVEL
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Amni International Petroleum Development Company Limited was founded in 1993 with only five employees. Twenty-six years and much success later, they have grown significantly and boasted its 130 employees. Their success, Chief Afolabi says, was made by a pragmatic approach from the very beginning. “When we started the business there was very little money in the system so we had to partner with some foreign companies. Amni started out with a company called Abacan. They brought the money and we made a good production. After a year or two they went bankrupt and we took over the operation.” Through wise financial planning and decisions, Amni has been running 100% of its operations with its own professional assets for the last eight years. This sense of independence is leading Amni to a very bright future. Amni’s operations are improving, as well. Amni owns two infrastructures right now in Okoro and Ima. At the facility in Okoro, they produce 15 thousand barrels a day and just closed a second $US 270 million facility that will allow an additional 22 thousand barrels a day. All of this production is in combination with expansion efforts, as the company is beginning the development of Tubu. “Between now and the middle of next year, we are looking to drill ten wells [in Tubu] that will bring our production to about 45,000 barrels a day,” says Chief Afolabi. Aside from their success in oil, Amni has also set their sights on gas. “We have close to 3.2 trillion cubic feet of gas in our reserves. We know our future is in gas so we are working very hard to accumulate more gas and monetise it. The problem is getting a good market price, but if you put it in your value chain, you can be the producer and the consumer so it stays in family.” In pursuing their advantage in the gas industry, Amni is currently exploring several projects that will give them a full value chain, securing their place in the market and the future. “We will develop the gas ourselves and treat it so we can have a petrochemical, probably propylene. We are also looking to do a power station. We are actually commissioning a 500-700 million a day process plant and we are in an advance stage of discussion with an FLNG (floating liquefied natural gas) company.”
Their plan is to grow Amni into a US$ five billion dollar company in the next three years. All signs suggest that it is headed in the right direction. Chief Afolabi says: “We can see that the next generation to run Amni is already in place. The plan is to give them more responsibilities, let them learn to steer the ship and be there just to guide them. We have all the assets in place to get there: the FLNG cash flow is about US$ one billion dollars a year, the petrochemical plant is another billion dollars a year and the power station almost the same. Amni has a very good future.” Amni claims its practical and sensible decision makes the difference which helps it stand apart from the competition. Chief Afolabi says, “We have a very short turnaround time in the decision making process. We have very well aligned people on board and we don’t like to owe money. If we borrow today, we don’t pay a dividend to anybody until we pay that debt, hence why investors like us.” This business philosophy has brought confidence to Amni’s vision and their ability to deliver. It is not just Amni’s incredible success that sets it apart from other companies in the oil and gas sector. Amni’s dedication to corporate social responsibility ensures that their presence gives to the community in which they operate. “We build schools
“It’s all about treating others like you would like to be treated, and they will respond to you when you have needs.” Chief Tunde J. Afolabi, CEO and Chairman of Amni Petroleum
