Wale Tinubu, Group CEO of Oando Plc, is credited for turning the company from a local petroleum marketer into a leading energy solutions provider across Africa.
Three decades ago, few could have imagined that a small petroleum trading company launched by two young Nigerian lawyers would evolve into one of Africa’s largest indigenous energy players.
At the heart of that transformation is Wale Tinubu, the group chief executive of Oando Plc, whose ambition and bold bets have reshaped the company from a fuel marketer into a diversified energy conglomerate.
Oando Plc, listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the first African company to secure a cross-border inward listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, has evolved under Tinubu’s leadership into a diversified group with operations in international supply and trading, gas and power, energy services, and exploration and production.
Tinubu’s journey began in 1994 when he co-founded Ocean and Oil Group, one of Nigeria’s pioneering indigenous petroleum trading companies with extensive export operations. His bold vision became evident in 2000 when Ocean and Oil led a successful bid for a stake in Unipetrol Nigeria Plc. That acquisition, which included Unipetrol’s purchase of Agip Nigeria Plc, marked the largest takeover of a quoted Nigerian company at the time. It also laid the foundation for the rebranding of the group into Oando Plc.
Since then, Tinubu has overseen the creation and growth of strong subsidiary businesses across the energy value chain. In the midstream, Axxela Limited (formerly Oando Gas and Power) emerged as a leading natural gas distributor, supplying more than 175 industrial and commercial customers through its extensive pipeline network. Oando gradually exited the business, completing a phased divestment to Helios Investment Partners in 2019 in a deal worth about $160 million.
In the downstream, Oando Marketing Limited was transformed into OVH Energy, which now boasts Nigeria’s largest distribution footprint with more than 1,500 trucks, 50 million litres of tank storage capacity, over 400 retail outlets, and West Africa’s first privately owned midstream jetty. Oando divested from the business in 2019 through a $461 million transaction with Helios and Vitol Group, creating OVH Energy as a standalone operator.
While building and spinning off midstream and downstream assets, Tinubu repositioned Oando as a dominant upstream player. That ambition culminated in 2014 when Oando Energy Resources (OER), its upstream subsidiary, closed a $1.8 billion landmark acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ Nigerian businesses. The deal, hailed as a watershed moment for local participation in the oil industry, secured Oando’s place among Nigeria’s largest indigenous exploration and production companies.
Oando Plc bagged the prestigious ‘Deal of the Year’ award at AEW 2024, following the company’s successful $783million acquisition of Nigerian Agip Oil Company
Today, OER has assets in the Niger Delta and West African sub-regions with 14 licenses, a current net production of an estimated 43,000 (barrels of oil equivalent per day) boepd, 2P reserves of ~ 470.7mmboe, 2C reserves of an estimated 146.9 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe).
In the downstream, Oando Trading DMCC (OTD) is a supply and trading company, a key participant in international oil markets with a significant presence in the West African region, and direct access to major energy markets across Africa via its offices in the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Nigeria.
Wale has been recognised for his notable achievements. In June 2015, he was named ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’, West Africa by Ernst & Young based on his contributions to the development of the African Oil and Gas industry.
In 2011, he was awarded the ‘African Business Leader of the Year’ by Africa Investor and in 2007, named a Global Young Leader by the World Economic Forum, Geneva, in recognition of his achievements as one of the leading executives under 41.
History of Oando
Oando, or as it was known at inception, ESSO West Africa Incorporated, a subsidiary of Exxon Corporation of the United States of America (USA), commenced business with operations as a petroleum marketing company in Nigeria in 1956, 11 years before the birth of Tinubu, its current CEO.
In 1976, the Nigerian Federal Government (FGN) bought Esso's interest and thus became sole owners of the company. The company was then re-branded "Unipetrol Nigeria Limited".
Fifteen years later, Unipetrol became a Public Limited Company and 60% of the company's shareholding was sold to the Nigerian Public under the first phase of the privatisation exercise.
In 1992, the company was quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and two years later, Ocean and Oil Services limited, the company co-founded by Wale Tinubu, was established to supply and trade petroleum products within Nigeria and worldwide.
Unipetrol acquired 40% in the equity of Gaslink Nigeria Limited to utilise its exclusive Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement with Nigeria Gas Company in 2000, and later increased the stake to 51% in 2001.
In the same year, Ocean & Oil holdings acquired 30% controlling stake in Unipetrol through the purchase of the FGN's stake in the company. The company later increased its controlling stake to 42%.
The company bid for and acquired 60% of the equity of Agip Nigeria PLC from Agip Petroli International in 2002. By 2003, Unipetrol Nigeria PLC had merged with Agip Nigeria PLC and was branded “Oando". Oando Marketing emerged as a Downstream Group with the largest footprint in Nigeria.
In 2004, Oando Trading Limited and Oando Supply & Trading Limited were incorporated. Oando Gas & Power (OGP) emerged as a result of Gaslink's gas distribution franchise and Oando's existing customer base. This expansion into the gas sector was a key development in Oando's growth and diversification strategy.
The following year, Oando became the first African company to achieve a cross-border inward listing on the JSE. Oando Energy Services was incorporated.
Tinubu has overseen the creation and growth of strong subsidiary businesses across the energy value chain
In 2007, the company’s gas subsidiary, Gaslink, laid a 100-kilometre gas distribution pipeline in Lagos, while its drilling arm, Oando Energy Services (OES), acquired two rigs to deepen its upstream activities. The following year, Oando broke new ground by becoming Nigeria’s first indigenous oil company to hold an interest in deepwater assets through a 15 per cent stake in OMLs 125 and 134. OES also expanded its fleet with an additional rig.
By 2009, Oando had grown its rig count to five with the acquisition of two swamp rigs, alongside the completion of Gaslink’s Phase 3 pipeline. The momentum continued in 2010, when Oando Gas and Power (OGP) launched the 12.15MW Akute Independent Power Plant, designed to supply electricity to the Lagos Water Corporation. That same year, it raised $140 million in a rights issue, oversubscribed by 128%.
In 2011, Oando secured the mandate to distribute gas in Rivers State through the Central Horizon Gas Company, while also completing and commissioning the 128km Eastern Horizon Gas Pipeline. A landmark year, the Federal Government awarded Oando and its partner Agip a $3 billion contract to develop a Central Processing Facility.
The company took a bold leap in 2012, completing the reverse takeover of Exile Resources to form Oando Energy Resources (OER), which was subsequently listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It also expanded upstream operations through a 40 per cent farm-in to Qua Ibo, OML 13.
Between 2013 and 2015, Oando intensified its capital raising, commissioning the 10.4MW Alausa IPP for the Lagos State Government, completing multiple rights issues, and sealing a $200 million private placement. The period also saw its $1.8 billion acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ Nigerian assets, a transformational deal that significantly expanded its upstream portfolio.
In line with a strategic repositioning, Oando began divesting from non-core businesses between 2015 and 2018, selling down stakes in its downstream, midstream, and energy services subsidiaries. By 2018, it had fully exited the downstream and midstream businesses, while inaugurating its flagship headquarters, The Wings Office Complex, in Lagos.
The company’s upstream activities delivered notable results in 2019 with a major gas and condensate discovery in the Niger Delta, alongside long-term gas supply agreements with Nigeria LNG. That same year, it refinanced $425 million through a Reserve-Based Lending facility with Afreximbank.
Oando recent strides and expansion
Oando pivoted towards clean energy in 2021 with the launch of Oando Clean Energy Limited, highlighting its commitment to sustainability. This was followed in 2023 by the rollout of electric mass transit buses in Lagos, in partnership with the Lagos State Government and Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).
In 2024, Oando announced the acquisition of Eni’s entire stake in OMLs 60-63, cementing its status as a major upstream player. The momentum carried into 2025, as the company secured operatorship of Block KON 13 in Angola and was selected as the preferred bidder for the lease of the Guaracara Refinery in Trinidad and Tobago, marking its bold expansion beyond Nigeria.
“I am thrilled by our successful bid and award of Block KON 13 in Angola,” Tinubu said. “This development underscores Oando’s relentless commitment to expanding our footprint across Africa and contributing to the continent’s energy-sufficiency goals.”
From gas pipelines in Lagos to renewable energy projects and global upstream expansion, Oando’s journey reflects a mix of bold acquisitions, strategic divestments, and forward-looking investments that continue to reshape its identity in Africa’s evolving energy landscape.
