*Diversifies crude offtake sources as Dangote Refinery erodes PMS imports business
WorldStage newsonline– Oando PLC, Africa’s leading indigenous energy solutions provider has published its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2025 with its upstream business recording strong production performance at a 63% year-on-year growth averaging 37,012 boepd in H1 2025.
This includes crude oil production up 77% to 10,479 bopd, gas volumes up 54% to 25,399 boepd, and NGL production up 375% to 1,135 bpd.
The company attributes this performance to the consolidation of the NAOC JV interest and improved uptime across key assets.
The Group reported revenue of ₦1.72 trillion, representing a 15% decline driven by lower trading activity and weaker realised prices, despite stronger upstream contributions. Gross Profit fell by 28% to ₦59 billion reflecting both a topline contraction and changing segment mix.
Nevertheless, the company maintained a Profit-After-Tax of N63 billion, consistent with the result recorded in H1, 2024.
Following, its recent acquisition of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) from Italian oil giant, Eni, the company has focused heavily on infrastructure upgrades, production optimisation, and integration of the NAOC asset base leading to increased capital expenditure increase of ₦44 billion.
Additionally, Oando’s commitment to safety is demonstrated by achieving zero lost-time injuries (LTIs) and recording 12.3 million LTI-free hours, underscoring its continued excellence in HSE performance.
The Trading subsidiary increased its crude oil liftings to 14 cargoes (12.9 MMbbl) in H1 2025, compared to 10 cargoes (10.6 MMbbl) in H1 2024, reflecting improved offtake execution.
Speaking on the 2025 half year results, Group Chief Executive, Oando PLC, Wale Tinubu, said, “In H1 2025, we advanced our growth agenda in our upstream division, the primary driver of the Group’s performance, by achieving a 63% year-on-year increase in production volumes. This was driven by the successful consolidation of NAOC’s assets, early gains from our optimization programme and our assumption of operatorship, which enabled us implement holistic security measures amid improved community relations, resulting in enhanced infrastructure reliability, higher production volumes, and greater operational resilience.
“Our trading segment faced headwinds which exerted pressure on the entity’s revenue and the Group’s topline as a result of declining PMS imports into the country due to rising local refining capacity from Dangote Refinery, a positive development that enhances Nigeria’s energy security and self-sufficiency. In response, we diversified our crude offtake sources, optimized trade flows, and expanded into LNG and metals. These initiatives are already gaining traction and will support stronger performance in H2.”
Similarly, another independent player Aradel Holdings Plc, released its H1, 2025 unaudited financials and reported revenue of ₦368.1 billion, up 37.2% and Profit after Tax of ₦146.4 billion, up 40.2% driven by stable average production volumes.
Additional highlights in the first half of the year include the company securing operatorship of Block KON 13 in Angola, marking its strategic entry into the Kwanza Basin and a significant step in expanding its upstream footprint Africa. Looking ahead, the company is preparing for capital restructuring initiatives, including an equity raise and debt conversions, which it plans to present at the upcoming Annual General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meeting scheduled to hold in August. These plans follow the successful upsizing of the RBL 2 facility to $375 million, strengthening its financial flexibility to accelerate development of the Group’s expanded 1 billion boe upstream portfolio.
Looking forward, Tinubu remarked “As we enter the second half of the year, our priorities are clear: accelerate upstream monetization through drilling and production assurance, strengthen trading performance, and execute our capital restructuring initiatives to restore balance sheet flexibility. With a focused strategy and a clear execution roadmap, we remain committed to delivering sustained value to our shareholders.”
Oando has set its sights on maintaining full-year production of 30,000–40,000 boepd, driven by a balanced capital program of 3 new wells and 6 rig-less interventions. The company’s trading guidance includes 25–35 MMbbl crude oil and 750,000–1,000,000 MT refined products. Additionally, Oando projects capex of $250–270 million focused on drilling, infrastructure, and ESG projects, with a 20% cost reduction goal.
