The Nigerian Oil and Gas industry has seen a boom since it was discovered in Oloibiri in Bayelsa State, in 1956. Many household names in this industry are men but women have been making significant strides and challenging these men. There are many of them but in this list, we discussed 7 of the most powerful women in the Oil and Gas sector in Nigeria
Folurunsho Alakija (CEO, Famfa Oil)
Folorunsho Alakija is a Nigerian billionaire businesswoman and philanthropist. Born in 1951 to the family of Chief I. A Ogbara, Alakija is a Nigerian businesswoman, reputed to be the second richest woman in Africa after Mrs Dos Santos of Angola, with an estimated net worth of $2.5billion. The business tycoon is involved in the fashion, oil and printing industries.
In May 1993, Alakija applied for the allocation of an oil-prospecting license (OPL). The license, to explore for oil on a 617, 000-acre block now referred to as OPL 216, was granted to Alakija’s company, Famfa Limited.
As of 2015, Alakija is listed as the second most powerful woman in Africa after Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the 87th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes
Catherine Uju Ifejika (CEO, Britannia-U Group)
Uju Ifejika is the chairman and chief executive of the Britannia-U Group, a group of oil and gas companies. The company is indigenous and an integrated oil and gas company, incorporated on December 4 1995 under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The company has upstream (exploration and production), downstream, (supply and trading), shipping and sub-surface engineering affiliate companies.
In 2003, Uju Ifejika’s Brittania-U was awarded 100-percent interest in the Ajapa marginal field in an oil mining lease and 90 percent of the operatorship, according to the Petroleum Resources Ministry. Brittania-U made history in 2019 when it acquired Nigeria’s largest oil vessel for cabotage tradingBrittania-U made history in 2019 when it acquired Nigeria’s largest oil vessel for cabotage trading.
Amy Jadesimi (MD, LADOL)
Dr Amy Jadesimi is the managing director of Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL) base. Though the youngest in this list, she is a force to be reckoned with in the Nigerian oil sector by virtue of her position at LADOL, which has become one of the giant service providers in the upstream sector.
LADOL, which plans to invest up to $1billion developing port facilities in Lagos, has turned a site reclaimed from a swamp and an industrial wasteland into a $500million port facility to support offshore drilling operations, including ship repair, maintenance, engineering and construction. It is the only deep offshore oil and gas logistics base in Lagos and the largest privately financed logistics base in Nigeria.
Hajiya Bola Shagaya, MON (CEO, Bolmus Group)
Bola Shagaya is one of the richest women in Nigeria who has a stake in the oil sector. She is a businesswoman and the founder and CEO of Bolmus Group International, a diversified Nigerian conglomerate company with interests in oil, real estate and banking. (She is a board member of Unity Bank PLC). Bola Shagaya started her career with the audit department of the Central Bank of Nigeria before venturing into commercial activities in 1983.
Hajia Bola Muinat Shagaya is also the managing director of Practoil Limited, one of the largest importers and distributors of base oil in Nigeria, serving local lubricant blending plants. The 63 year old business mogul is also into communications and photography and is on the board of the National Economic Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD).
Her businesses also include huge investment in real estate, spanning across major cities in the country with over three hundred employees.
Mrs Nkechi Obi, MON (Executive Vice Chairman, Techno Oil Limited)
Mrs Nkechi Obi, MON (Member of the Order of the Niger), is the executive vice chairman of Techno Oil Ltd, Nigeria’s foremost oil and gas company. Mrs Obi is a visionary and astute businesswoman, who presides over the Techno Oil Group, a diversified conglomerate with subsidiaries and interests spanning oil and gas, aviation, power, real estate and banking.
Techno Oil was founded more than a decade ago with a humble beginning, but now has annual revenue in excess of $250million.
Mrs Nkechi is an expert in strategy and business development with experience spanning over 25 years in the petroleum industry. Through her Techno Oil Cooksafe Initiative, she inspires, educates and empowers women. “Techno Oil Cooksafe Initiative” which is primarily concerned with health, safety and environment of our women through safe cooking in Nigeria
Princess Stella Oduah, OON (CEO, Sea Petroleum & Gas Limited – SPG)
Former Minister of Aviation, and Nigerian Senator, Mrs Stella Oduah is a tycoon in the oil industry. She has conquered the private sector in Nigeria and successfully established the conglomerate; SPG Group as an enviable group of companies with interest spanning Oil and Gas, Agriculture, Engineering, Logistics and Trading. The company was established in 1992 as an independent Marketer of Petroleum and Allied Products in Nigeria with offices in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri, Abuja, Onne, Eket, Calabar, and Kaduna.
Ngozi Ekeoma (Nepal Oil and Gas)
Ngozi Ekeoma is the managing director of Nepal Oil and Gas, a major player in the downstream sector of the industry. For a woman who didn’t begin life as many on this list, it’s incredible what she has achieved in over 20 years in business. Having gotten married as a teenager and at age of 22, already had three children, Barrister Ngozi wasn’t deterred as she pursued her education and built herself to become a powerful force in the Oil & Gas industry.
She, first, obtained a diploma in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Lagos. Second, she went ahead to acquire a Bachelor of Law degree from the same University. She also enrolled into an LLM course at the UNILAG. Ngozi is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, Boston. She is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators.
The 50 Year old woman has among others Nepal Oil and Gas Services Ltd, Quest Shipping Ltd, First Fenders, Emline Nig. Ltd, Sorties Nig Ltd, Geo Travels and Tours among others. She has two Tank Farms; one at Oghara, Delta State (for storage of PMS, DPK and AGO) and the other, at Ikeja Lagos (solely for aviation fuel). Nepal Fly is the name of the aviation fuel company.