Lekoil Fetes Foremost Geoscientist, Kehinde Ladipo on Reception of Aret Adams Award

Peter Uzoho

Lekoil Nigeria Limited, one of the prominent indigenous oil and gas exploration and production companies has celebrated a foremost Nigerian geologist and geoscientist, Dr. Kehinde Ladipo on his reception of the prestigious Aret Adams Award by the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE).

The award was presented to Ladipo at the 2024 edition of NAPE’s international conference and exhibition in Lagos in recognition of his immense contributions to the growth of geosciences as well as his achievements in the oil and gas exploration and production space.

The Aret Adams Award, named after the former Group Managing Director of the former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), late Chief Aretanekhai (Aret) Godwin Adams and his commitment to excellence, is the highest honour within the NAPE family.

It is awarded to deserving earth scientists of any nationality in recognition of their distinguished and outstanding contributions to, or achievements in the science and practice of petroleum exploration and production in Nigeria for a continuous period of 15 years and above.

However, to specially honour and felicitate with Ladipo for bagging the exalted award, Lekoil which has benefited immensely from the industry icon’s rich knowledge and support, recently organised a dinner in Lagos to celebrate him and his achievements.

A fellow of NAPE and the Nigerian Academy of Science, Ladipo is an independent consultant currently serving as a senior consultant at Lekoil and a senior Advisor to the Geoscience Department of Lekoil, doing asset valuation and more.

Speaking at the event, Ladipo expressed gratitude for receiving the award, noting that the award was very important to him as it is the highest award by NAPE.

Going down memory lane on his journey as a geologist, Ladipo stated: “I joined the geoscience community without knowing what to expect but along the process, I met renowned professors whose intellectual capacity inspired me.

“When the opportunity to work with Shell came, I joined the company and a trial of 6 months ended up becoming a journey of 22 years which was very rewarding.”

He highlighted Nigeria’s oil and gas potential, stating that the country has over 110 fields, each with reserves of more than 5 million barrels.

He emphasised that with targeted exploration, these reserves could yield significant results, even if divided into smaller 300-barrel fields.

The foremost explorationist encouraged young geologists to actively support the federal government in exploring and developing these resources to maximise the nation’s energy potential.

“Now we should be looking at development and what innovation AI can add to the nation’s energy potential. The future is bright”, he noted.

In his opening remark at the dinner, Chief Executive Officer of Lekoil Nigeria Limited, Mr. Lekan Akinyanmi, described Ladipo as a role model and an inspiration to the company and the petroleum industry.

“We are immensely proud of Dr. Ladipo’s outstanding achievements and his invaluable contributions to Lekoil. His dedication and expertise have been instrumental in advancing our exploration initiatives.

“Receiving the Aret Adams Award is a testament to his exceptional commitment to excellence in the geoscience field. Once again we congratulate Dr. Ladipo, on this well-deserved honor.”

On his part, a Management Executive at Newcross Group and Pan Ocean Oil Corporation, Bolaji Ogundare, glowingly eulogised Ladipo for receiving the highest award in NAPE, noting that the prestigious Aret Adams award couldn’t be awarded to a more deserving individual than the latest recipient.

Related Articles