Follow Us on Google
By Funsho Arogundade
It is often said that fortune always favours the farsighted, brave and the bold —as the bull— which happens to be the totem-insignia of Taurus, the zodiac sign of foremost business icon, Dr. Mike Agbolade Adenuga Jnr.
Momentum multiplies; just same manner opportunities multiply as they are seized. Adenuga has seen and fathomed the infinite potential in the energy business before it became obvious for the now ‘all-comers’ hustling crowd to see and take advantage of.
As far back as the late 1980s, the billionaire tycoon had rightly sensed the boundless potentials of the up-surging oil sector, and he didn’t squander another moment applying for a licence —which he got via his company, Consolidated Oil. Adenuga didn’t have to wait barrels of eternity before he struck crude gold in commercial quantities by the early 1990s in Ondo State. His Consolidated Oil was on record as the first indigenous Exploration and Production Company to have made commercial discoveries at its Bella 1 Well at its OPL 113 —now OML 103— in the shallow waters of Southwestern Ondo State, a feat attained with an all Nigerian team of oil experts on the Christmas Eve of 1991. That feat —a surging boost to his rising wealth profile— opened the floodgate for the participation of private stakeholders and investors into the once exclusive exploitation and exploration segment of Nigeria’s oil business.
The best in their quest to be best and stand-out champions in whatever field of human endeavour never rest. They are always on the revving go, never resting even in any state of unrest. Since that major breakthrough, Adenuga —the founder and Chairman of Conoil Producing Limited, the country’s foremost indigenous upstream operator— has not looked back or had the luxury of time to squander precious moments of the slightest opportunity within the range of his sight. There is no gainsaying that Adenuga has been creating a new dawn for Nigeria’s energy future. In all of these, France has been functioning almost like an invisible shareholder in his dynasty.
Other News
The ultra-wealthy businessman is a key member of the France-Nigeria Business Council –a private sector initiative to enhance business relations between the two countries. But way before the inauguration of the council, Adenuga has had a long and extremely beneficial relationship with French businesses —via his telecoms, aviation and energy investments. His recent signing of a landmark production contract between his Conoil Producing Limited and TotalEnergies reinforced that assertion.
The agreement was sealed and signed at TotalEnergies’ global headquarters in La Défense, Paris by two of the hydrocarbon industry’s most influential leaders —Adenuga and Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman/CEO of TotalEnergies. The strategic collaboration is to give a transformative boost to Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, and signals a new era of upstream expansion, resource optimisation, and investment inflows into Africa’s leading oil-producing nation.
The high-profile partnership affirmed global confidence in the nation’s production ecosystem. TotalEnergies holds vast experience in upstream advancement, and Conoil retains the nimble ingenuity of a home-grown powerhouse rooted in the Delta’s soil. At Conoil Producing, modern upstream infrastructure mirrors French engineering excellence; and Adenuga’s recent partnership with TotalEnergies carries the legacy forward. The partnership signals a strengthening of long-term asset bases.
For capital-market participants, the development carries implications that extend far beyond operational synergies. It represents a potential turning point for equity valuations, shareholder returns, and sector-wide market perception. For shareholders of both quoted companies, the deal will enhance the intrinsic value of equity holdings, particularly as production timelines and cash-flow projections begin to crystallise.
