Biography

Billionaire, Bryant Orjiako (ABC) his company approved to buy over Exxon Mobil assets for $1.28 billion: Biography, Education, Career, wife and Net worth

Published

3 years ago

2022/08/09

Sub-editor

Biography

Co-Founder & Chairman, Seplat Petroleum Development Company PLC.

Dr Ambrose Bryant Chukwuemeka Orjiako, popularly known as ABC Orjiako; a trained medical doctor-turned-business tycoon and a billionaire who owns investments in various sectors ranging from oil and gas, shipping, banking and insurance, as well as the pharmaceutical industry.

According to a press statement seen issued by the Presidency in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari, who also doubles as Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria gave an approval to acquire Exxon Mobil’s Nigerian oil assets for $1.28 billion.

Seplat Energy, a leading indigenous oil exploration company listed on the Nigerian Exchange and the London Stock Exchange, first announced the deal in February this year.

Asides from the $1.28 billion up-front payment Exxon Mobile would be getting for the deal, the company would also get an additional $300 million from Seplat over a five-year period. However, the additional consideration would depend on factors such as oil price and the average production of the oil assets during the period.

Exxon Mobil had explained that the divestment, which includes more than 90 shallow-water oil assets and 300 producing wells, was aligned with its new investment strategy

ABC Orjiako is the Chairman and co-founder of SEPLAT, a leading Nigerian independent oil and gas company listed on the London and Nigerian stock exchanges with a strategic focus in the Niger Delta of Nigeria.

He established and managed various companies in the upstream, downstream and service sectors of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. These include Abbeycourt Trading Company Limited, Abbeycourt Energy Services Limited, Zebbra Energy Limited and Shebah Exploration and Production Company Limited. He also has other business interests in construction, real estate development, pharmaceuticals and shipping. He went into full-time business in 1996 after eleven years of active medical practice.

In 2009, his company Shebah Exploration and Production Company and Platform Petroleum Limited co-founded SEPLAT. Since inception, he has remained the Chairman spearheading new business development and providing leadership on strategy and stakeholder relationships. Under his leadership, the company has become a highly reputable Nigerian Independent recording several milestones comprising successfully closing landmark acquisitions, growing the company’s oil and gas production exponentially and becoming a well-run company with strong and transparent governance.

He has steered the company, in the space of five years, to steadily emerge a global brand while attaining its remarkable growth aspirations. Under his watch, the company pioneered dual listing of its shares on the Nigerian and London stock exchanges in 2014. In recognition of the company’s achievements, SEPLAT recently won the Best Africa listing 2014 award by Africa Investors (Ai), “Mid-Cap Company of The Year 2014” award by the Oil and Gas Council and was named a “Global Growth Company 2014” by the World Economic Forum in 2014.

Dr. ABC Orjiako is on the board of companies in various sectors; he is the chairman of Neimeth Pharmaceutical International plc, which is listed on the NSE; a director of MPI, which is listed on NYSE Euronext Paris and a director of Leadway Assurance Company Limited. By invitation of the London Stock Exchange, he became a founding member of the London Stock Exchange Group’s Africa Advisory Group (“LAAG”), a select group working towards generating and channeling ideas and problem solve towards the issues affecting the African continent from a commercial and social perspective.

Consolidating his firm commitment to philanthropy, he founded the Daniel Orjiako Memorial Foundation (‘‘DOMF’’) in 1996 in honour of his late father, Chief Daniel O. Orjiako. Since inception, the DOMF has executed numerous programmes in rural Nigerian communities in education, healthcare services and economic empowerment through agriculture aimed at providing welfare and breaking the poverty cycle.

In recognition of his services to humanity, Pope John Paul II in 2003 bestowed on him a Knighthood of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (KSGG).

He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his service to humanity and his entrepreneurial achievements. Some of these notable awards include the Distinguished Alumnus Award and Doctor of Sciences (D.Sc. Honoris Causa) by the University of Calabar, Nigeria in 2001; Platinum Award of the West African College of Surgeons in 2006; National Honours as an Officer of the Federal Republic (“OFR”), conferred on him by the President of Nigeria in 2012; the coveted Zik (Nnamdi Azikiwe) Prize in the Professional Leadership category by the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC) and African Business Executive of the Year 2014, by the Oil and Gas Council.

Early Life

Ambrose Bryant Chukwuemeka Orjiako was born in Calabar, Cross Rivers State, on the 2nd of October 1960 to an Igbo family of late Mr Daniel Obiesie Orjiako and late Mrs Rebecca Orjiako from Umuchima, Uli Anambra State

Education

He had his primary education in Uli and completed his secondary education as a science student in 1978, in the same location — Anambra State, Nigeria.

Dr ABC Orijako was a brilliant student and led his class in secondary school. He gained admission into the University of Calabar to study Medicine and also graduated in 1985 as one of the best students. As a student, he was the Director of the international federation of medical students, African Region and also a chairman at the Standing Committee of African Medical students Association.

He was further trained as an orthopaedic surgeon; a specialist in trauma management. And after years of practice, he was recognised as a fellow t the West African College of Medicine and also Nigerian postgraduate Medical college.

After obtaining an M.B.B.Ch. degree in 1985 from the College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar, Nigeria, he trained as a General Surgeon at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos.

He later sub-specialised in orthopaedic and trauma surgery and became a fellow of the West African College of Surgeons in 1996. In 2006, he completed the OPM program of the Harvard Business School.

Wife and children

ABC Orjiako is happily married, with the union blessed with four children. The billionaire businessman is involved in philanthropic activities.

Career

The Start Of SEPLAT Petroleum Development

Dr ABC Orjiako’s company, called Shebah Exploration and Production Company, co-founded SEPLAT with Platform Petroleum Limited. Since the formation of SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company in 2009, Dr ABC Orjiako has been the chairman, thanks to his excellent leadership and management strategies.

Since then, the company has recorded massive growth in oil and gas production which has earned her global recognition, including the fact that SEPLAT produces over 8,000 barrels of crude oil per day and owns up to 40% of the offshore block.

Under the leadership of Dr ABC Orjiako, SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company made significant impacts on the global oil industry. In 2014, the company established listing on the Nigerian and London stock exchanges. She also won the Best Africa Listing that same year. SEPLAT was also awarded the Mid-Cap Company of the Year in 2014 by the Oil and Gas Council and won the award of the Global Growth Company award by the World Economic Forum.

Source of wealth

A businessman par excellence, Dr ABC Orjiako holds multiple positions and stakes in different companies today. In addition to being the chairman of SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company, he is also the chairman of Zebbra Energy limited, the CEO of Ordec Group, Helko Marine Services and Shebah Exploration and Production Co. Ltd.

Dr ABC Orjiako also has investments in other sectors like real estate, banking, and the pharmaceutical industry.