Amni Petroleum’s Secret To Success

Amni International Petroleum Development Company Limited

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.

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

and we give scholarships [to students]. We build hospitals.” Their focus is on helping the people in the communities in which they work, so that their endeavours in oil can have a lasting and positive ripple effect. They aid citizens in transportation, finance, and teach life skills to help them to succeed. Chief Afolabi continues: “I think the one service that I am most proud of is the education that we provide to the society.”

Amni works to guarantee that their work in Nigeria is positive by keeping it as close to Nigeria as possible. Amni outsources very little in the operation of their reserves, which opens the door for jobs in the country and stimulates the economy further. “We are local content ourselves,” he says, “I have a really good relationship with local content because we are the same: they are local content downstream and I am local content upstream. We do close to 90% of our business with Nigerian businesses.”

All of these elements have created an environment that is ripe for investors and stockholders. As for why investors should choose Amni, Chief Afolabi tells us, “Because we have a good growth path and a very good asset base. We are extremely focused, we are very professional and, more importantly, we have very good corporate governance. We are a company that you can invest in and go to sleep without worrying if the money is there.”

Amni’s practical decision making is the secret to their success and has created a company and environment where everyone involved - investors, stakeholders and employees - benefit from their efforts. “My investors are banks; my stakeholders are, first, the government because I pay them taxes. Second, the communities where I make sure to leave something behind and third, our employees. My employees are happy; we treat each other like family here. My three stakeholders are happy, I’m happy and the banks are happy. So we are all happy.”

Ultimately, Amni has grown into a fully realised ambition, an achievement of which Chief Afolabi is very proud: “To see an indigenous company take off. That was one dream that I had and it happened. I am still very proud today.”

1377 Tiamiyu Savage Street Victoria Island • Lagos • Nigeria communications@amni.com www.amni.com Tel: +234 19049870-75