• As Renaissance wins NAPE 2025 awards

Sopuruchi Onwuka

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, Mr. Tony Attah, has stated that Nigerian players in the oil and gas industry are now better positioned, than in the last five years, to optimize the nation’s vast hydrocarbon natural resources due to changes that have been made by the Federal Government.

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Attah whose remarks were delivered in a panel discussion at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) in Lagos noted that Nigeria has, over the last 50 years, built a critical mass of extremely talented professionals across all levels of the oil and gas industry.

He attributed the improvements in the industry to key policies of the Federal Government.

He was represented by Renaissance’s Executive Vice President Finance, Mr. Olusegun Banwo, in the event where Renaissance won the Strategic Investment in Nigeria’s Energy Future Award; and its Chairman, Dr. Layi Fatona, also won Industry Icon Award.

Renaissance’s Executive Vice President Finance, Mr. Olusegun Banwo (l) receives Strategic Investment in Nigeria’s Energy Future Award from President of NAPE, Mr. Johnbosco Uche.

 “Today, several things have lined up well for our industry. Over the last 50 years, we have built a critical mass of extremely talented Nigerians across all levels of the oil and gas industry. That is a great thing to have happened to us. How we now leverage that talent to move this country forward is in our hands,” Attah declared in his remarks.

He said, “we have the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGIG) Act; the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and, probably, most importantly, the NNPC Limited, because the changes that have occurred in NNPC are things that many of us could never have dreamt of. But they are here. We have a board that is populated by extremely competent and experienced people. We have a management that comes from the international oil companies, they are highly experienced, and they are willing to partner. So, all of those are lined up.

“The challenge before the industry today,” Attah asserts, “is to make sure that the organisations playing in the industry can stand very critical scrutiny of their management and their boards. That we have shareholders that are there to ‘grow the pie’; that we have boards of directors that are competent and credible and independent, able to take independent decisions; and, above all, management that, as individuals, are going to lead by competence and character.”

These, he said, will define the next decades of the oil and gas industry.

According to Attah, with all the unfolding changes in the industry, attracting finance would not be a challenge.

“When people give money to organizations, it is not really the asset that they are financing. It is the people that they are giving the money to. Before a financial institution will lend out money, it is going to take a very critical look at the management and the board of the organization. Let us ensure that our organizations can stand that scrutiny.”

Attah enjoined other stakeholders in Nigeria oil and gas industry to emulate the vision and courage of Renaissance which, in March 2025, completed the purchase of all the shares of the Shell Petroleum Development Company.

Speaking on his company’s vision, Attah said Renaissance was more than just a name. “Ours is Renaissance for people, for country and for Africa to unleash a new beginning that enables energy security and industrialization in a sustainable manner,” he said.

He said Renaissance was poised to set a standard for the oil and gas industry in Nigeria and across the continent.

NAPE President, Mr. Johnbosco Uche, said Renaissance won the Strategic Investment in Nigeria’s Energy Future award because its capital projects and investments have significantly shaped the national energy landscape.