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Petralon Energy, led by Nigerian energy mogul Ahonsi Unuigbe, has restarted production at the Dawes Island Field in Rivers State, bringing oil to the surface from a site first discovered 46 years ago and 22 years after it was initially awarded as a marginal field in the first Marginal Field Bid Round.
Chevron struck hydrocarbons at Dawes Island in 1979, but the field never took off. It was later classified as one of Nigeria’s early marginal fields in 2003, yet remained idle until Petralon, through its subsidiary Petralon 54, took over as operator in 2022. The company completed the DI-2 well in June 2025, marking the first steady flow of oil from the shallow-water asset.
The restart feeds into Nigeria’s “Project One Million Barrels” plan, which leans on homegrown companies to help close the country’s output gap as global oil majors scale back. “Every incremental barrel matters at a time when the country is underproducing,” said a senior official at the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
Community-first approach
Alongside drilling, Petralon established Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs) for Ogoloma and Koniama. Though the Petroleum Industry Act requires such trusts, the company took extra steps, funding awareness programs to ensure residents could decide their own priorities.
“The real strength here is that it gives communities the final say in how benefits are used,” said Kenneth Uzor, Petralon’s CSR manager. Backed by 3 percent of operating costs, the trusts have helped maintain peace in an area where many projects have been disrupted in the past.
Petralon plans to scale output at Dawes Island and pursue more upstream prospects. Its mix of solid technical execution and community ownership may serve as a model for reviving dormant fields while strengthening Nigeria’s energy security.
Unuigbe’s path beyond Nigeria
For Unuigbe, the milestone crowns a career that has spanned finance, public service, and energy. He began in banking, working at Citibank and Stanbic IBTC, where he arranged more than $2 billion in financing across industries. His transition into government came when he became Edo State’s first Commissioner for Budget and Planning, helping the state secure a $150 million World Bank loan.
That mix of financial and policy experience set the stage for his move into oil and gas. He co-founded First Hydrocarbon Nigeria, where he played a central role in structuring the $147.5 million acquisition of OML 26 from Shell’s joint venture. In 2014, he launched Petralon Energy, a firm created to support local operators while remaining competitive against international majors.
His influence now stretches beyond Nigeria. Unuigbe owns close to 48 million shares—about 11 percent—in Africa Oil Corp., a stake worth roughly $70 million, alongside interests in Prime Oil & Gas and BTF Oil & Gas. Back home, he chairs the Nigerian Exchange Group, where he has become a leading voice for stronger corporate governance.
