Nigeria: Shell Trading's Trust in Petralon Signals Growing Investors' Confidence in Indigenous Operators

16 February 2026

Indigenous Operatorsmay Have Received a Boost As Shell Western Supply and Trading Expressed Confidence in the Operations of Petralon Energy, an Indigenous Exploration and Production Company With Demonstrated Capacity to Acquire, Develop, Finance, and Operate Oil and Gas Assets. — At an event hosted in London by Shell Western Supply and Trading, to celebrate Petralon Energy's achievement of first oil at the Dawes Island Field, its Chief Executive Officer, Rodrigo Teixeira de Abreu, while commending the leadership of Petralon Energy, said:

"I want to take a moment to recognise the great work the Petralon team has done. For those who have been there since the beginning, this is the result of a very disciplined rollout of your strategy. It reflects the quality of the Petralon leadership team and the tangible strategy they have put in place, which is now delivering results".

The acclaim was showered on the company's Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ahonsi Unuigbe; Board Chairman, Mutiu Sunmonu, CON; and Chief Commercial Officer, Uduak Uquere for the remarkable feat attained by Petralon Energy in transitioning the Dawes Island asset from development to production in 2025.

Petralon Energy's first oil achievement marks a key milestone for the company and Nigeria's marginal field programme. The accomplishment is a laudable testament to the capacity of indigenous operators to operate assigned assets responsibly and optimally.

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Since the licence award in June 2022, Petralon Energy has moved from development planning to drilling, and production within a compressed timeline, positioning the firmly company among the more active operators in the current marginal field cycle.

The company has drilled multiple wells, brought the DI-2 well on stream, achieved first oil, and evacuated approximately 158,000 barrels of crude through the Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal. Entering 2026, Petralon has already drilled the third well on the field - DI-3, to its total depth and will be bringing the well onstream before the end of this quarter, with a 3rd well planned for later this year (the DI-4 well).

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