What significant market changes have occurred since our last interview?

The past year has seen a wave of transformation in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, particularly following the federal government’s oil block bid rounds and a series of major asset acquisitions by indigenous companies. These developments have unlocked significant opportunities across the value chain.

At Eunisell, we recorded a growth rate of 30–35% at the close of 2024. This growth was driven by increased demand for well testing, production enhancement, and a suite of engineering services, including sand management, water treatment, and general production optimization. To support this momentum, we have made substantial investments in equipment, personnel and technical expertise, placing us at the heart of these emerging activities.

Our participation in bids for projects tied to newly acquired assets has increased by over 60%. We are currently in advanced discussions and near-signing stages for multiple long-term contracts, some with a minimum duration of two years—focused on engineering and production support.

On the chemical side, we’ve seen a parallel surge in demand. As production scales up, so does the need for treatment and injection chemicals. Eunisell continues to strengthen its local blending capabilities, especially for top-surface chemical solutions. We are scaling production, ensuring strategic inventory, and maintaining uninterrupted product availability in country for our clients.

How is Eunisell expanding its chemical business to meet rising demand?

One of the key challenges ahead is ensuring local stock availability to meet the accelerating demand from operators eager to maximize production on newly acquired fields and/or enhance production on existing assets. Currently, about 70% of oilfield chemicals used in Nigeria are still imported.

We are addressing this by enhancing our R&D efforts, manpower development and leveraging our laboratory capabilities to localize the blending of key chemical formulations. Our goal is to increase our capacity for top-surface products and expand into subsurface solutions over time. Additionally, we are evolving our business model with OEMs to secure priority production slots, ensuring timely delivery in a volatile global supply environment.

What can be done to further support local suppliers in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry?

There’s a growing shift toward local sourcing, and in some cases, Nigerian-produced chemicals now outperform imported alternatives in treatment efficiency. Import timelines—ranging from three to five months due to freight and scheduling challenges—are no longer sustainable for efficient operation of these assets. This has created an opening for locally available solutions to serve both as a temporary stopgap and, increasingly, as a permanent replacement.

Availability, responsiveness, and performance are becoming decisive factors. Local players who can consistently deliver on these fronts will continue to gain traction.

What are the barriers to scaling local chemical production?

One major hurdle is trust. Asset owners are understandably cautious—they want to be sure that local products won’t compromise asset integrity. Looking back five years ago, local chemicals held less than 15% market share; today, that figure is closer to 30%. The trend is upward, driven partly by the rising cost of imports and the localization of asset ownership.

However, advanced laboratory infrastructure is still limited locally. At Eunisell, we continue to perform some critical analyses overseas to ensure precision at the molecular level. That said, investment will naturally follow opportunity. As demand for reliable, high-performance local solutions grows, we expect more stakeholders to invest in the ecosystem. We are committed to leading that charge, with plans to scale our current operations by 40% to support more sophisticated chemical production and service delivery.

What are your top priorities for Eunisell over the next 12 months?

Our strategic focus is localization. The global supply chain disruptions of recent years have underscored the need for resilience. We are embedding localization across our operations to enhance reliability and reduce external dependencies.

We’re also advancing innovation—particularly through our laboratory upgrades—and building the next generation of industry talent. Our graduate training program equips young scientists and engineers with practical, hands-on experience to prepare them for roles in high-demand sectors.

Finally, collaboration is key. We actively pursue partnerships and alliances that enable us to deliver end-to-end solutions, especially in areas where scale and speed are critical to success.