Mike Adenuga’s Conoil Exports Nigeria’s Newest Crude Oil Blend in International Market

• Conoil Producing, led by Nigerian billionaire Mike Adenuga, has launched Nigeria’s newest crude oil blend, Obodo, into the international market
• The medium-sweet crude from the onshore OML 150 block was first exported by Oando Trading, with operations facilitated by Century Ports and Terminals.
• This achievement highlights Adenuga’s continued impact on Nigeria’s oil industry, with Conoil reporting increased profits and revenue in 2024

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

Conoil Producing, the oil exploration firm owned by Nigerian billionaire businessman Mike Adenuga, has taken a major step in Africa’s energy industry by initiating the sale of Nigeria’s newest crude oil blend, known as the Obodo blend, to the international market.

Nigeria’s oil sector began a new chapter in April when Conoil Producing, led by Adenuga—the first Nigerian businessman to strike oil—formally introduced the Obodo blend.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the company entered into a production sharing agreement.

The Obodo blend is a medium-sweet crude that originates from the onshore OML 150 block. Continental Oil & Gas Limited, one of the operational firms under Adenuga's Conoil Producing—which owns six oil blocks throughout the Niger Delta—is responsible for managing this block.

First company to acquire Obodo blend

Oando Trading, the trading division of Oando Group, was the first company to acquire and use the new Obodo blend.

Obodo crude made its debut on the global market when the Atlantic Spirit, one of Oando's tankers, conducted the offtake under the supervision of Century Ports and Terminals.

The milestone was achieved in collaboration with Century Ports and Terminals, whose operation of the Tamara Tokoni—a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel—established the crucial connection between Conoil's onshore wells and Oando's export tanker.

This ensured that the first barrels of Obodo crude sailed without incident under Panama's flag, according to Billionaires.Africa.

Adenuga's involvement in Nigeria's oil sector

Mike Adenuga has been a significant force in Nigeria's oil sector through his company, Conoil Producing.

Established in the early 1990s as Consolidated Oil, Conoil made history in 1991 by becoming the first indigenous Nigerian company to discover and produce oil commercially in the shallow waters of Ondo State.

This pioneering achievement marked a turning point in the nation's oil industry, traditionally dominated by foreign firms.

Under Adenuga's leadership, Conoil has expanded its operations to manage six oil blocks in the Niger Delta, with reserves exceeding 400 million barrels of oil and 1.8 trillion cubic feet of gas.

In 2025, the company launched Nigeria's newest crude oil blend, Obodo, from the OML 150 block, marking a significant milestone in the country's energy sector.

This move underscores Adenuga's commitment to enhancing Nigeria's position in the global oil market.

Beyond exploration, Conoil's marketing division has shown impressive financial growth, with revenues rising from N201.4 billion in 2023 to N323.2 billion in 2024, and profits increasing from N9.9 billion to N11.4 billion during the same period.

These achievements reflect Adenuga's strategic vision and enduring impact on Nigeria's oil industry.

Conoil's oil marketing division has continued to generate substantial profits, as evidenced by its unaudited financial statement for 2024, which shows that revenue increased from N201.4 billion ($125.3 million) in 2023 to N323.2 billion ($201 million) in 2024.

Additionally, profits rose from N9.9 billion ($6.15 million) to N11.4 billion ($7.1 million), demonstrating that Adenuga continues to innovate, expand, and break records decades after his initial success.

Adenuga becoming one of Africa’s biggest billionaires

Legit.ng reported that from importing car stereos into a rising Nigeria to becoming one of Africa's biggest billionaires, Mike Adenuga's legacy is proof of the strength of ingenuity, tenacity, and an unwavering drive for success.

Before the oil blocks, underwater fibre optic cables, and expansive estates that now characterise his empire, Adenuga was a young businessman who recognised opportunity in car stereos.

Adenuga's business acumen had already been developed over decades before the world became aware of him as the solitary Nigerian billionaire who owned Globacom, Conoil Producing, and one of Africa's biggest real estate holdings.

The article was updated with additional information by the head of the business desk, Victor Enengedi.

Source: Legit.ng