Elumelu’s Heirs Energies leads Nigeria’s oil and gas sector’s resurgence

... Reopens oil well abandoned for 37 years

Leading indigenous oil firm, Heirs Energies, has successfully restarted a well that had been shut down for 37 years.

The Chief Executive Officer of Heirs Energies, Osa Igiehon, who made this revelation at a media briefing in Lagos, described the feat as a defining example of the firm’s resilience and tenacity.

Igiehon said the previous operator of the well could not operate it for over three decades, saying it took Heirs Energies another four years to revive the well located in the Niger Delta.

“There is a well we just started last week. This well has been down for 37 years. For several reasons, the previous operator could not restart it. And we have been trying to restart it for four years. We started it last week”.

He explained that the challenges were not technical, but stemmed from social and security issues that had long prevented the restart.

“There were community issues, challenging issues, and security issues. But we started it up, and it’s producing very well. There was nothing wrong with the well technically. It was all the approved ground issues. And we have dealt with all those issues.

“We are a company that takes action, that takes hold, that moves forward and is not constantly retreating,” Igiehon added.

Opening Abandoned Wells

He recalled how the company ramped production by 100 per cent in 100 days by revamping about 30 idle wells.

“I just want to add that the simple thing was that when we came in, there were up to 40 wells producing. In 100 days, we reactivated another 30 wells.

“So, we almost doubled the number of wells producing in 100 days. It was a very focused programme. And it was enabled by our highly experienced staff, and the good relationship with the community”, he said.

The Heirs Energies CEO maintained that onshore operations is becoming attractive to other investors because of the feats Heirs Energies has achieved so far, boasting that the company is 100 per cent Nigerian.

“We are changing the narrative of what people used to think about Nigeria. So, when you tell people that an asset onshore gets close to 100 per cent of its volume, people are like, ‘Really?’

“All we used to think about was offshore Nigeria before it was re-scripted. So, it’s also helping change that narrative, and the fact is that we have done this with a 100 per cent Nigerian workforce.

“Our whole organisation, I’m sure you know, is 100 per cent Nigerian. And our contractors are 95 per cent indigenous”, the Heirs Energies boss stated.

Nigeria has more dollar inflow than legitimate outflow – Oyedele

…says naira volatility driven by discretionary demand for FX

The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Dr. Taiwo Oyedele, has identified discretionary demand for foreign exchange as a major driver of the naira’s volatility.

Speaking at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group’s half-year review of the economy in Lagos, Oyedele emphasized that the naira’s stability depends on addressing this discretionary demand.

The naira demonstrated relative stability in the first half of 2025, with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s consistent foreign exchange interventions aimed at maintaining market stability, a recent report by  Norrenberger stated.

The naira appreciated marginally by 0.20 per cent at the official market at the weekend, closing at N1,532 to a dollar, while it recorded a stronger gain of 5.10 per cent in the parallel market, closing at N1,575 against the greenback.

Oyedele noted that Nigeria has more dollar inflow than outflow legitimately, but stressed that discretionary demand remains a significant challenge.

“If we produce and keep producing without addressing discretionary demands, the naira will not stabilize at a lower rate.

“I believe that the naira is significantly undervalued. Imagine if we get the naira to sub 1,000/$; just imagine what that means for everything from inflation to cost of living, to standard of living, to poverty”, he said.

Oyedele also called for transparency as a criterion for FAAC allocation, suggesting that the conditions for sharing money on a monthly basis should include transparency.

“Why don’t we make the conditions of sharing money on a monthly basis include transparency? Why is it only the population of the state?”, he demanded.

Speaking on ongoing tax reforms in the country, Oyedele clarified that the reforms are not designed to rake in more money from next year.

“In fact, one of the things we did, which was why we wanted to raise VAT, but it wasn’t popular. The reform we did to VAT is likely to result in a drop of VAT revenue by up to 60 per cent.

“We’re hoping we can close that gap by closing the tax evasion gap and getting people to pay who are supposed to pay”, the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms chairman noted.