The nephew of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Wale Tinubu, leads Nigeria’s Oando Plc, which has been shortlisted as one of the final bidders to purchase Petrotrin, the state-owned refinery in Trinidad and Tobago.
Oando Plc has grown under Wale Tinubu’s direction to become one of Africa’s biggest providers of integrated energy solutions. It would be a huge strategic move for Oando to broaden its global reach and possibly address some of the issues facing Nigeria’s oil and gas industry if it is successful in acquiring Petrotrin.
Oando Plc is up against two other finalists: INCA Energy, an American company, and CRO Consortium, a consortium of enterprises based in Trinidad. During the country’s budget presentation, Colm Imbert, the Finance Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, revealed the names of the shortlisted enterprises.
Due to severe difficulties, including losses of up to $2 billion annually, Petrotrin was forced to close in 2018. A successful offer by Oando might bring fresh life to the refinery and positively alter Nigeria’s energy environment.
