CEO Today Global Awards

91 www.ceotodaymagazine.com CEO Today Global Awards 2019 Nigeria AUSTIN OJUNEKWU AVURU CEO of Seplat Petroleum Development Company PLC FIRM PROFILE Who we are Since Seplat acquired its first blocks and commenced production in 2010, the Company has increased oil and gas production and grown reserves in each year of operation and is today widely recognised as a leading Nigerian independent oil and gas operator. Underpinning Seplat is a strong balance sheet and profitable production base with a balanced mix of oil and gas. What we do Seplat is a leading independent oil and natural gas producer in the prolific Niger Delta area of Nigeria. The Company’s focus is on maximising hydrocarbon production and recovery from its existing assets, acquiring and farming into new opportunities in Nigeria (specifically those which offer production, cash flow and reserve replacement potential, with a particular focus on the onshore and shallow water offshore areas) and realizing the upside potential within its portfolio through exploration and appraisal activities. The only Nigerian company fully listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange In April 2014, Seplat completed the first ever dual listing on both the London Stock Exchange and the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Seplat raised US$535 million in an initial public offering that ranked as the largest for a sub-Saharan Africa company since 2008 and the second largest ever for a Nigerian company, demonstrating the international investor appetite for leading Nigerian indigenous players in the oil and gas sector. The capital raised allowed Seplat to further implement the Company’s business strategy, including the acquisition of additional blocks. Strategically located, high-quality assets Since its inception, Seplat has acquired an attractive portfolio of assets in the prolific Niger Delta region. The Company’s portfolio provides a robust platform of oil and natural gas reserves and production together with material upside opportunities through 2C to 2P conversion and exploration and appraisal drilling. Seplat’s initial focus has been on securing assets in the onshore regions of the Niger Delta, but the Company also views the shallow water offshore areas of the Niger Delta as an appealing opportunity set and one it aims to access in the future. Seplat has a 45% working interest in OMLs 4, 38 and 41 which are located in Edo and Delta States onshore Nigeria. Seplat is operator of the three blocks on behalf of the NPDC/Seplat Joint Venture. As operator, Seplat is empowered with running the day- to-day operations activities and is able to set production and operational improvement goals and lead exploration activities, subject to the approval of its partners. Production is predominantly from seven fields, namely Amukpe, Oben, Okporhuru, Ovhor, Orogho, Sapele and Sapele Shallow, and the partners aim to bring additional fields onstream in the future. ABOUT AUSTIN OJUNEKWU AVURU Austin Avuru, a co-founder of Seplat, was appointed Chief Executive Officer on 1 May 2010. He obtained a Geology degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1980 and a post-graduate diploma in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 1992. Prior to joining Seplat, Mr. Avuru spent twelve years at NNPC beginning in 1980, where he held various positions including wellsite geologist, production seismologist and reservoir engineer. In 1992, he joined Allied Energy Resources in Nigeria, a pioneer deepwater operator, where he worked for the next ten years as exploration manager and technical manager. In 2002, Mr. Avuru established Platform Petroleum Limited and held the role of managing director until 2010, when he left to take up the CEO position at Seplat. He is also a director of MPI, which is listed on NYSE Euronext Paris. Mr. Avuru has served the oil and gas industry in various capacities including his work as the technical co-ordinator for the review of the industry’s memorandum of understanding, membership of the ministerial committee on the restructuring of the DPR and his role as a consultant to the Senate committee on petroleum resources between 2000 and 2003. He also chaired the technical subcommittee that drafted the policy blueprint which then formed the basis of the Nigerian Content Act of 2010.