KEY POINTS
- Moni Pulo operates as sole operator of OML 114 in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, striking First Oil in 1999.
- The company became the first indigenous operator to fully comply with PIA Host Community Development Trust requirements.
- CEO Seinye Lulu announced active gas development in areas previously considered exhausted.
Dr. Seinye O.B. Lulu-Briggs did not open with production figures. She opened with a prayer. That choice captures something essential about Moni Pulo Limited, Nigeria’s wholly indigenous oil and gas exploration company, which gathered staff, management, community representatives and government officials on Feb. 28 to mark its 12th Annual Corporate Praise at the Chapel of God International Worship Centre on Forces Avenue. The theme was “Unwavering Gratitude,” drawn from 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
Lulu-Briggs, who serves as both chairman and chief executive officer, traced the company’s origin to a calculated gamble. When Moni Pulo’s founder, her late father High Chief Dr. O.B. Lulu-Briggs, moved to acquire the company’s pioneer asset in the early 1990s, professional advisers told him the field was commercially unviable. He acquired it anyway. On March 7, 1999, Moni Pulo struck First Oil, planting itself among Nigeria’s earliest indigenous independent exploration and production companies.
Compliance No Other Indigenous Operator Has Matched
“By conventional scientific and commercial projections, production from that pioneer field should have ended over a decade ago,” Lulu-Briggs told the gathering. Operations, she said, continue well beyond what anyone projected.
The company also notched a regulatory milestone that Lulu-Briggs cited with evident pride. Moni Pulo has achieved full compliance with Petroleum Industry Act requirements governing the Host Community Development Trust, a standard no other indigenous operator has yet reached.
According to Billionaires Africa, through that framework, the company has funded health facilities, school renovations, civic halls, boreholes, solar lighting and livelihood programs in surrounding Niger Delta communities.
What Comes Next
Looking ahead, Lulu-Briggs announced that the company is actively developing gas reserves in areas previously considered exhausted, describing the effort as a new chapter that demands the right partnerships, technical depth and financial discipline. “We have entered a season of increase,” she said.
Rivers State Deputy Governor Prof. Ngozi Odu attended the event and commended Moni Pulo’s contributions to the state’s economic development. “Twelve years of consistent dedication to God, excellence in service and contribution to the growth of our dear State is indeed a remarkable milestone,” Odu said.
Founded in 1992, Moni Pulo operates as sole operator of its OML 114 asset in the eastern lobe of the tertiary Niger Delta play.
