Heirs Energies Innovates OML 17 Operations to Combat Theft

Heirs Energies, through TNOG Oil and Gas Limited, took over the operatorship of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 17 in 2021, acquiring a 45% stake previously held by Shell, TotalEnergies, and Eni for approximately $1.1 billion. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company retains the remaining 55%, making it a joint venture operated by Heirs Energies.

At its peak, only 3 out of every 100 barrels of oil produced reached the export terminal, with the rest lost to crude theft, costing the industry $3.3 billion. To address these challenges, Heirs Energies established the Integrated Operations Management Centre (IOMC), which provides real-time monitoring of pressure drops, wellhead breaches, and flow rates.

While the company has demonstrated that a troubled asset can be stabilized through capital investment, field management, and digital monitoring, it also highlights the limitations of technology in an industry still reliant on physical infrastructure and security measures.