Nigerian oil producer Heirs Energies plans to double output by 2030 and is looking to expand across Africa, Chief Executive Officer Osa Igiehon said.
The company has boosted production from its crown asset, a permit known as Oil Mining Lease 17 that it purchased from Shell Plc in 2021, to as much as 55,000 barrels a day from around 27,000 a day earlier, Igiehon said in an interview in Windhoek, Namibia. It plans to almost double output again through additional drilling and upgrades in the next five years, he said.
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The targets are another example of the growth of smaller independent oil companies in Nigeria, which are relying ever more on local producers as big international firms exit some fields. While focusing on the assets that they’ve taken over in the country, the smaller producers are also using their experience to look for expansion across the continent and overseas.
“At the same time, we’re looking at growing the business in Nigeria and also growing in Africa,” Igiehon added. “I think we would typically enter a play with a mature asset and then grow more upstream,” he said, adding that ultimately such an expansion will be “opportunity-led.”
