Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited, operators of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 30, has hint of a turnaround in the fortunes of the onshore asset, declaring that years of behind-the-scenes restructuring, sustained investment and governance reforms are now translating into rising production, strengthening reserves and renewed stakeholder confidence.
 
Speaking at a media stakeholders’ engagement in Lagos, the General Manager, Government, Joint Venture and External Relations at Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited, Adesola Adebawo, said OML 30 had emerged from a difficult phase after the operator deliberately prioritised long-term stability and structural reforms over short-term gains.
 
Addressing journalists, Adebawo explained that the asset, operated on behalf of joint venture partners, NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) and Shoreline Natural Resources Limited (SNRL), came with significant inherited challenges when the current operators assumed stewardship.  
 
According to him, years of operational strain were marked by production pressures, infrastructure deficits and a complex stakeholder environment that tested the resilience of the asset and its managers. He said the asset went through what he described as a period of ‘downward growth’, noting: “Production pressures, inherited constraints, infrastructure gaps, and a complex stakeholder environment pushed us to our limits.”
 
Adebawo said management deliberately resisted the temptation of short-term interventions, opting instead for a more challenging and less visible path focused on rebuilding systems, strengthening governance, and enforcing operational discipline across the asset.
 
He said: “When we assumed stewardship on behalf of our JV partners, SNRL and NEPL, we met an asset at a crossroads. And we had a choice: chase quick fixes or do the hard, sometimes invisible work that would give the asset a chance at real, lasting stability. We chose the latter. There was no applause in those early days. No headlines celebrating quick wins. Just steady and deliberate work, as well as rebuilding systems, strengthening governance, tightening operational discipline and making the kinds of decisions that don’t look dramatic on the outside but change the future of an asset from within.

“We invested in people, infrastructure, digital tools, and capability. Together with our JV partners, we aligned around a vision: to run a world-class independent energy operation with the technical, commercial, and financial strength required to create long-term value. Today, OML 30 remains one of the largest land-based assets in Nigeria, with a track record of delivering responsibly for shareholders, partners, employees, and communities.”