Already a heavyweight in the oil and gas arena with 57,000 barrels per day to his name and a billion-dollar Shell acquisition under his belt, Adeyemi-Bero is now steering First E&P into new skies. The latest: Tanzania’s Mnazi Bay North Block, a patch of earth that hums with gas-rich promise, just shy of Mozambique’s fabled reserves.
This is not a tentative toe-dip. A six-month technical assessment has begun, courtesy of a fresh memorandum of understanding with Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp., and both sides seem eager to press forward. George Toriola, First E&P’s strategy chief, has hinted at “keen” urgency. And for good reason. If this venture bears fruit, it could be First E&P’s first major natural gas play beyond Nigeria—a symbolic and strategic expansion in equal measure.
But this isn’t just about one company stretching its wings. Adeyemi-Bero is part of a broader wave. Nigerian firms now peering eastward, outward, anywhere but home. With the majors packing up and leaving Africa’s shallow waters and swamplands behind, indigenous players are seizing the moment. They’re not just absorbing legacy assets; they’re writing their own cross-border chapters.