By George OPARA
Nembe Exploration and Production Company (Nembe E&P) is driving the growth of the Nigerian energy sector by actively prioritizing domestic talent, indigenous companies, and in-country value creation.
This development signifies a shift toward indigenous operational control, where local Nigerian companies (like Nembe E&P) manage major assets (such as OML 29) rather than relying entirely on foreign International Oil Companies (IOCs).
Spear News Nigeria gathered that it is the leading upstream subsidiary of the Aiteo Group, presents opportunities for significantly improving Nigeria’s local content drive.
The firm’s growth strategy unveiled in July 2025, which aims to increase its crude oil production to 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) and gas utilization to more than 200 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd), indicate a clear direction for this objective.
It is remarkable that the company managing Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 — the largest onshore oil block in Sub-Saharan Africa, spanning 990 square kilometers — along with the 97-kilometre Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL), has weathered important operational setbacks in recent years.
After acquiring a 45 percent interest from Shell, Total, and Agip via Aiteo Eastern E&P Ltd — which was later rebranded as Nembe E&P Ltd in the second quarter of 2025 — the company swiftly increased its production from under 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) to more than 90,000 boe/d within a year. Nevertheless, persistent oil theft and vandalism led to substantial setbacks, with production losses exceeding 90%, ultimately necessitating a complete halt of operations for 18 months.
In a reaction, Nembe E&P implemented a new operational framework to secure its production and protect the interests of its joint venture partners as well as Nigeria as a whole. A strategic alliance with the Nembe Crude Oil Export Terminal enabled the establishment of an alternative evacuation system, which includes a Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) offshore terminal with a capacity of 2 million barrels, five shuttle vessels each with a capacity of 38,000 barrels, and a temporary Central Processing Facility (CPF).
The firm has initiated a permanent CPF and underwater pipeline construction project aimed at providing a sustainable solution that aligns with its growth objectives, thereby enhancing Nigeria’s daily oil output and fulfilling the quotas set by OPEC. In addition to oil production, Nembe E&P is making significant investments in advanced energy infrastructure, such as refining and increased utilization of natural gas, to ensure Nigeria’s energy future is secure.
Presently, the firm operates six associated gas gathering (AGG) compressors, which enable it to produce considerable quantities of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from its OML 29 reserves. This represents a significant advancement in Nigeria’s focus on gas production as the country aims to diversify its economy and lessen its reliance on crude oil.
Stakeholders and industry experts highlight the strategic opportunities for Nembe E&P’s expansion strategies, which are poised to significantly influence Nigeria’s critical local content initiative aimed at providing improved opportunities for local involvement in the oil and gas sector.
“Indigenous players have elevated the standards for local content development, as their activities create both direct and indirect job opportunities for local operators such as Nembe E&P. This is the reason for the growing optimism regarding the effective implementation of the local content policy, which is being vigorously promoted by the Nigeria Content Development and Management Board (NCDMB),” stated Engr. Adedmola Kolawole, an expert in the energy sector.
Spear News Nigeria checks indicate that there are numerous opportunities for Nembe E&P to enhance local content activities. These opportunities encompass indigenous contracting by reserving essential logistics, catering, and supply contracts specifically for local Nigerian companies in Bayelsa state.
Also, there is a need to improve community sourcing of materials from vendors directly nominated by the Nembe host communities. It will be necessary to focus on local vendor patronage, which entails following the NCDMB guidelines to engage registered local contractors for facility maintenance.
But there will be prospects of direct job creation such as employing local community members in field operations, flow stations, and surveillance. This is organically linked to skill transfer initiatives in training indigenous personnel in technical, engineering, and administrative roles to meet oil and gas standards.
Supplying temporary and sustainable power (such as diesel generators) to host communities to bridge infrastructure gaps will upgrade infrastructure and industrial capability of the host communities.
Also, constructing and maintaining facilities (like healthcare centers and access roads) directly contracted to local indigenous civil engineering firms will boost Nigeria’s local content objective. This is more impactful when the projects are directly contracted to local indigenous civil engineering firms, and upgrading the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) to safely evacuate and handle the locally produced ‘Nembe Crude blend’.
Opportunities in operating independent Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels to reduce reliance on terrestrial pipelines and minimise downtime is a means of expanding logistics and terminal operations.
The primary objective of NCDMB is to promote and develop Nigerian content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, ensuring the growth and utilisation of local capabilities, goods, and services.
The expertise got by the Nigerian operators in Engineering, Procurement, Installation, Operation and Maintenance (EPICOM) space equips them to undertake a wide range of technical jobs in the regions.
They include installation and servicing of the metering system, construction of loading bay, LPG installation, tank farm construction, installation of actuators, colons, mechanical seals, valves, steam trap and other process equipment.
Nembe E&P has got many approvals within the industry for its efforts. It was honored as the Independent Oil & Gas Company of the Year at the 2024 Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC) Awards.
Other acknowledgement involve Upstream Company of the Year (BusinessDay, 2019), Oil and Gas CSR/Sustainability Company of the Year (The Guardian, 2018), along with various leadership and indigenous company awards from prominent industry organizations and media outlets from 2017 to 2019.
With its remarkable achievements and ongoing initiatives, Nembe E&P is strongly entrenching as one of Nigeria’s frontline independent oil and gas producers, playing a key role in the nation’s energy security and economic growth.
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