Benedict Peters Makes Remarkable Foray into Mozambique’s Energy Sector

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Benedict Peters achieves the impossible time and over again. An enterprising boardroom titan becoming the doyen of a Nigerian oil empire. Peters has done it. Subverting stereotypes in the oil and gas sector and breaking into the global consciousness with a viable behemoth? Peters did it. Leading his empire to become one of the highest-grossing Nigerian-owned firms in over a decade? Yes, Peters did it. Little wonder Nigeria and Africa, in entirety, delight in watching him transform his Aiteo Group into a colossal specimen of industry, strength and sacrifice. And now, with his recent Mozambican venture, Peters’ trajectory is set beyond the stars, writes LANRE ALFRED

Revered at home and recognised abroad for his protean productivity and impeccable business foresight, spotting goldmines where many see landmines, Benny represents the best of Nigeria’s new breed of magnates identifiable by their phenomenal grit and business acumen. Benny no doubt personifies the new generation of industry titans and patriots passionately driving the growth of the private business community in Nigeria and other African nations.

Without conceit or fuss, the billionaire magnate astonishes us with his entrepreneurial spirit, integrity, panache and penchant for business with a human face. It all makes perfect sense. As the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Aiteo Group, Benedict Peters’ persona has graciously rubbed off on the behemoth widely regarded as the cradle of entrepreneurial jazz and the blues—music many of his peers have adopted as their industrial Esperanto.

There is no gainsaying Peters holds a special and sacred place in Africa’s oil and gas sector. He has a particularly keen understanding of its organised tumult and quiet storms, its cultural history and an awareness of the importance of enriching the industry via practical and futuristic exploits. Peters has taken all that foundational knowledge about Nigeria and Africa’s energy sectors and made it his own, unafraid to stretch himself as an entrepreneur and continually evolve.

There is some mystique to Peters’ acumen. So confounding is his depth that both his associates and business rivals conclude that he must have some magic spell, slogan or chant always throbbing quietly at the back of his mind. This is their only logical explanation for his capacity for scoring recurrent feats in the tumultuous world of commerce and industry.

However, if they look deeply enough, they would find that Peters’ magic wand is fashioned from his tenacious spirit, lofty ambition and hard work.

Peters honed his talent for identifying opportunities even as he schooled himself against the barrage of life’s hard knocks until the proverbial fortunate hour. In his case, that hour recurs time and over again, thus triggering speculation about the extent of his discipline, talent, and genius.

Just recently, Peters’ Aiteo Group expanded its portfolio by securing a significant stake in Mozambique’s Mazenga gas block, the largest onshore gas reserve in Sub-Saharan Africa. The acquisition was finalised following a series of farm-in agreements with Mozambique’s national oil company, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), positioning Aiteo as the block’s operator.

The Mazenga assets, nestled in Mozambique’s rich sedimentary basin, span approximately 23,000 square kilometres. They are estimated to contain a substantial gas reserve of 19 trillion cubic feet, highlighting the block’s significant potential.

In the wake of the acquisition, Aiteo has swiftly launched an intensive development programme. This includes aeromagnetic and gravitational geological studies, thorough field inspections, and the reinterpretation and processing of existing data.

According to Peters, these emphasise the company’s commitment to a robust investment in gas development initiatives. He said these efforts aim to accelerate and enhance Mozambique’s upstream gas resources, adding, “The assets we are investing in are situated in a region with some of the highest gas production potential in Mozambique. Our approach is rooted in our strategy of actively engaging with unique energy assets across Africa. We aim to elevate our profile and expand our global gas resources to meet industry-leading standards within the continent. Our proven track record gives us confidence in our ability to develop these assets, benefiting both Mozambique and all stakeholders.”

Mozambique is home to some of the world’s largest natural gas reserves, particularly in the Rovuma Basin, estimated to hold over 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The country is currently developing several large-scale liquefied natural gas projects with the involvement of international oil companies like Total, ENI, and ExxonMobil. These projects are focused on extracting and exporting liquefied natural gas, with notable initiatives including Total’s Mozambique LNG project and ENI’s Coral South FLNG project.

Aiteo, as Africa’s largest indigenous oil producer, already plays a significant role in the continent’s oil industry, producing nearly 100,000 barrels of oil per day and contributing over five per cent to Nigeria’s daily oil output. Now, with its expansion into Mozambique, Aiteo is aggressively pursuing exploration and production opportunities across Africa and beyond, adding to its existing assets in the Niger Delta basin and the Benue Trough.

Just recently, Peters’ Aiteo Group recorded another remarkable milestone via its partnership with the NNPC to launch a new grade of crude called Nemb; through this joint venture, the group, widely acknowledged as Africa’s largest oil producer, ramps up its oil output.

The Nembe crude stream will be managed and marketed by a joint venture between state-owned NNPC and oil firm Aiteo Eastern E&P Co. Ltd, the first crude marketing project solely run by Nigerian entities.

“It is definitely the trajectory that we are going to follow,” Maryamu Idris, executive director of crude and condensate at NNPC Trading, told the Argus European Crude conference in London.

Nembe production was added to the Bonny Light stream more than three years ago, until incidents of sabotage on the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) hit output, an NNPC source told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference in London.

Now, the country has managed to resurrect Nembe as a separate grade, he added. The addition allows Nigeria to export another two cargoes of 950,000 barrels each of crude each month, NNPC said in a statement.

The first cargoes of Nembe were sold in October, with two 950,000 barrel shipments sold to France and the Netherlands. The low-sulphur grade commands a premium to the global Brent benchmark and is a good candidate to compete with Brazilian and Azeri crude grades for European refiners.

Nembe production is currently around 50,000 barrels per day, but the NNPC aims to rise to 80,000 by the first quarter of next year and 150,000 barrels per day by the start of 2025.

However, there is no gainsaying Peters has a true belief in the power of industry. It’s his life’s purpose; he’s always engaged in ambitious prospecting or the perfection of a promising venture. Throughout his career, he’s also demonstrated a commitment to identifying, creating and driving opportunities that aren’t always discoverable by his peers in the local and international oil sectors.

It’s always a surreal experience to witness him in his element – whether negotiating, creating or salvaging, Peters cuts a stunning picture of brilliance and panache. An unprecedented class act, his exploits are inspiring and text-book-worthy about how to run a thriving oil and gas behemoth.

And now, with his promising Mozambican venture, he has captured the world’s attention again. Peters is a true pragmatist and entrepreneur, blessed with an amazing vision, a lot of integrity, and quiet strength.

The most appreciable thing about him is that he has handled his success with grace and imaginative depth with humility. These attributes sustain his growth and accomplishments across Africa’s business landscape.

Peters is a creator of ventures. He is constantly shifting the lens on the energy business, skillfully re-envisioning the entrepreneurial lexicon through his strategies, proportions, and prospecting even within the parameters of the heavily regulated oil and gas sector.

Peters pulls you directly into a fantastical and magically real place that can simultaneously be nursed within and brokered to transcend the present into the future. The visionary founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Aiteo Group continues to challenge and upend entrepreneurial conventions with ambitious ventures and thoughtfulness about every detail.

Peters’ Mozambiqan exploits bring us into his unique industrial strength and imaginative space. His ideas about the industry are undoubtedly expansive. They carry us into the realm of imaginativeness, courage, vision and experimentation. Peters’ enterprise dares us to recognise the endless possibilities of ambition and how it manifests in practice and reality, in how we represent ourselves through foresight and industry.

There is poetry in Benedict Peters’s back story. You take everything in and get caught in its speechless rapture. There is a sparkle in the narrative, too. The native of Warri, Delta State, emits a rare shine that imbues the day with light and hangs upon the cheek of night like luminous beams of lighthouses in his native Delta. Like the proverbial shiny jewel in an Ethiop’s ear, Benny emits an uncommon glitter too rich to be ignored and too dear to be squandered. Little wonder he is fondly regarded as the jewel of Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. A hidden treasure, to be precise.

Every time you hear it, you realise how little you know of it and the gleaming metamorphosis of the brilliant billionaire. In Benny’s back-story, you encounter the musical embracing of history and rhythm, race and rhyme, melody and passion in an actual stunning event of a life unfurling. Even in this age of ubiquitous hyperbole, it can safely be said that Benny is one of the most inspiring forces of nature that you will ever see.

Unlike too many individuals stuck in the role of minor casts or fleeting characters in their own stories, Benny leaps from the pages of history as a fully formed and rounded character; he conceived, wrote and stars in this breakthrough masterpiece, cementing his place as one of the most daring and phenomenal creative minds of our time. He is a powerful reminder that greatness comes from unlikely places.