Oando wins ‘Deal of the Year’ award

Indigenous oil company, Oando Plc, has won the ‘Deal of the Year’ award at Africa Energy Week 2024 in recognition of the company’s recently completed landmark $783m acquisition of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company from the Italian Energy firm Eni on August 22, 2024.

In a statement on Thursday, Oando announced the award while expressing its delight as it beat other high-profile deals in the sector and across Africa.

The Africa Energy Chamber, organisers of the annual week-long oil and gas conference, hosted and recognised different stakeholders at a Gala and Award night held at the Cape Town International Conference Center on Tuesday.

The acquisition, 10 years in the making since Oando’s initial entry into the ConocoPhillips/NAOC/NNPC Joint Venture (JV) in 2014 when the company acquired ConocoPhillips Nigeria business, doubled the company’s stake in the JV to 40 per cent and operator of the assets.

On receiving the award, the Company’s Group Chief Executive, Wale Tinubu, remarked, “We are delighted and honoured to receive the ‘Deal of the Year’ award from Africa Energy Week. It’s been a remarkable year on many fronts. First, we marked our 30th anniversary as a business, then concluded our strategic plan to acquire our second IOC in a decade, Nigerian Agip Oil Company and step up to the role of operator.

“This award is more than just an accolade for a successful deal closure; it represents a public acknowledgement of the culmination of 30 years of grit, hard work, resilience, and sheer belief in our vision. It is a testament to my belief that with the #HumansOfOando, impossible is nothing. I’d like to thank the dream team, the #HumansOfOando, our financiers, and partners for their belief and role in making this award a reality.”

The acquisition is the culmination of a decade of preparation, strategic planning, and unwavering commitment to a vision of becoming Africa’s first indigenous International Oil Company.

It is a testament to the organisation’s 30-year journey spanning the entire energy value chain, with consistent and deliberate actions at each stage that have led to the advancement of indigenous participation in the industry.

The Deal of the Year award recognises the most transformative and impactful deal in the energy sector – honouring excellence in negotiation, strategic alignment, innovation, and collaboration – and celebrates deals that drive advancements in energy and economic growth.

With this year’s AEW theme of ‘Invest in Africa Energies: Energy Growth Through an Enabling Environment,’ the AEC, through the AEW Awards 2024, recognised other persons, International and National Oil Companies across the continent through awards in 10 categories.