Renaissance Africa Discovers Major Offshore Oil Deposits in Nigeria
Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited has announced a major offshore oil discovery in Nigeria after successfully drilling the JK-004 exploration well in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 74.
The company, in a statement on Tuesday, disclosed that the discovery marks its first major exploration success since taking over operatorship of the assets.
The statement added that preliminary evaluation of the shallow-water well revealed an estimated 1,000-foot hydrocarbon-bearing column across seven reservoirs, with initial log interpretation and fluid analysis confirming high-quality reservoirs containing light crude oil.
The discovery is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s reserve replacement efforts and support long-term crude oil production.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance, Tony Attah, described the discovery as a milestone under the company’s renewed exploration strategy.
“The success of JK-004, just over one year after assuming operatorship of these assets, demonstrates the strength of our exploration programme,” Attah said.
He credited the achievement to the commitment of Renaissance’s workforce, contractors, regulators and joint venture partners, while commending the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission for providing a supportive regulatory environment.
Attah also acknowledged the strategic support of Bashir Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, saying their leadership had helped drive value creation across the joint venture assets.
Vice President, Exploration and Chief Explorer at Renaissance, Johnbosco Uche, said the discovery reflected the company’s technical expertise and disciplined exploration approach.
According to him, the JK-004 well provides “a strong foundation for accelerated maturation with clear pathways to early development and value realisation,” noting that its proximity to existing producing fields would enable rapid commercialisation.
The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the achievement aligns with the regulator’s objective of growing Nigeria’s hydrocarbon reserves to support sustainable national development, pledging continued regulatory support for investments in the sector.
Chairman of Renaissance’s Board of Directors, Layi Fatona, described the discovery as proof of the continued prospectivity of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon basins and the growing capacity of indigenous operators to unlock value, attract investment and strengthen the country’s energy security.
Similarly, NNPC’s Executive Vice President, Upstream, Udobong Ntia, congratulated the joint venture team for the safe execution of the project, saying the company would continue to support initiatives aimed at sustaining reserve replacement and production growth.
Recently named Africa’s largest oil and gas company by Wood Mackenzie, Renaissance operates Nigeria’s biggest upstream joint venture, comprising 18 oil mining leases, two export terminals and a floating production, storage and offloading vessel across onshore, swamp and shallow-water assets in the Niger Delta.
The joint venture is owned by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (55 per cent), Renaissance (30 per cent), TotalEnergies (10 per cent) and Agip Energy and Natural Resources (5 per cent).
