AMNI International Petroleum Development Company has mobilised a drilling rig to its Okoro offshore field, kicking off a three-well campaign the Nigerian independent says will push peak production above 12,000 barrels a day and reinforce its position among the country’s most active indigenous operators.
The campaign marks a key milestone in AMNI’s five-year Strategic Development Plan, which targets production optimisation across established fields, accelerated oil development, and expanded gas commercialisation. The Lagos-based company, founded in 1993, has spent more than three decades building offshore operating capabilities and says the Okoro program reflects disciplined execution rather than opportunistic expansion.
“This is not a fly-by-night business,” Tunde Afolabi, the company’s chairman and chief executive, has said, framing the investment as grounded in operational excellence and long-term value creation.
Beyond Okoro, AMNI and its partners maintain a forward development portfolio with an investment pipeline exceeding $2.5 billion across oil and gas projects, with expected peak production of more than 150,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The company’s longer-term roadmap also includes advancement of the Tubu oil field and accelerated gas initiatives aimed at building a more integrated upstream portfolio.
The rig mobilisation carries significance beyond AMNI’s balance sheet. Nigeria has set an ambition to lift national crude production toward 3 million barrels per day, a target that increasingly depends on indigenous operators to sustain output and attract fresh capital. AMNI’s offshore program is a signal that local companies can now manage complex drilling campaigns and deploy substantial capital over multi-year development cycles — capabilities once concentrated among international majors.
Nigeria’s indigenous oil sector has undergone a notable transformation over the past two decades, evolving from marginal field participation into full offshore operatorship. That shift has positioned domestic companies as critical to extending field life and ensuring upstream investment stays within the local economy.
Pre-spud preparations are now complete at Okoro. With the rig on location, AMNI says the campaign will sustain base production from the offshore asset while setting the stage for the next phase of portfolio growth.
