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Just months after Nigerian billionaire Muhammadu Indimi marked a milestone in the country’s oil sector with a $315 million offshore vessel, another local tycoon is following suit. Taiwo Afolabi’s SIFAX Marine, a unit of SIFAX Group, announced plans to acquire additional offshore support vessels to boost capacity and respond to growing demand in the oil and gas sector.
Indimi’s FPSO boosts offshore Nigeria output
Indimi’s company, Oriental Energy Resources Ltd., recently celebrated the sailaway of the EMEM floating production, storage, and offloading vessel, or FPSO, which will serve as the production hub for the Okwok field offshore Nigeria. The EMEM, named after the late matriarch of the Indimi family, was converted at Dubai’s Drydocks World shipyard.
The vessel can process up to 40,000 barrels of oil per day and store roughly 1 million barrels, initially handling production from five wells. The vessel is designed to complement output from Oriental’s nearby Ebok field, giving the privately held company a robust production base. SIFAX Marine’s expansion reflects a similar strategy of investment in local capacity. The company said it plans to add sea-going barges, creek vessels, and offshore support ships to meet market needs, secure larger contracts, and provide clients with consistent and reliable service.
Afolabi Olayinka, executive director of SIFAX Marine, emphasized that growth will now focus on fleet ownership rather than rate increases alone. He said, “Our experience over the past year has made one thing very clear: long-term growth comes from deliberate investment in marine assets that we own and control. Asset expansion is about readiness, ensuring we can respond quickly where capacity and compliance are critical.”
SIFAX expands across aviation, oil, logistics
Since it was founded in 1988 by Taiwo Afolabi, SIFAX Group has expanded to become a major force in the aviation, logistics, hospitality, and oil and gas industries, operating in Ghana, South Africa, the US, Belgium, and the UK. In keeping with its focus on regional and global expansion, the company is also creating new projects in Equatorial Guinea and Djibouti.
As part of the move to strengthen its position as a full-spectrum marine services provider in Nigeria and other important international markets it is actively seeking partnerships and joint ventures in addition to vessel acquisitions to expedite growth.
In August 2025, SIFAX, under its subsidiary Ports & Cargo Handling Services signed a contract with Micura Services Limited to improve operations at the Tin Can Island Port terminal in Lagos. To make it easier and more affordable for Nigerian small and medium-sized exporters to reach foreign markets, the group has also started a direct Less-than-Container Load (LCL) export service to the UK in partnership with Netcargo UK Limited.
