Table of Contents
Key Points
- Tein Jack-Rich is looking to cash in on his investment, putting BelemaOil on the market just months after restarting production at OML 55.
- BelemaOil restarted operations at OML 55 in October 2024 after a three-year halt due to oil theft and vandalism.
- In 2024, Jack-Ric’s company secured a license for a crude export terminal to handle 400,000 barrels daily and generate over $11 billion in revenue.
BelemaOil, one of Nigeria’s leading indigenous oil exploration and production firms, has been on the market for weeks as founder and oil magnate Tein Jack-Rich looks to cash in on his early investment, according to sources familiar with the matter.
This comes just five months after BelemaOil restarted production at Oil Mining Lease 55 (OML 55), following a three-year shutdown caused by rampant oil theft and pipeline vandalism. The block, located about 40 kilometers west of the Bonny oil export terminal, operates as a joint venture between BelemaOil and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
From shutdown to restart
BelemaOil acquired a 40 percent stake in OML 55 from Chevron Corp. in 2015, but operations ground to a halt in 2021 when theft along its delivery line to the Bonny terminal made production unsustainable. The suspension dealt a financial blow to the company, forcing it to rethink its strategy.
Production finally resumed in October 2024 with the arrival of the company’s first floating oil storage vessel at OML 55. The block holds five oilfields and currently produces about 14,000 barrels of crude per day, along with more than 70 million standard cubic feet of gas daily, according to company figures.
Expansion and crude export plans
Jack-Rich has long pursued bigger ambitions in Nigeria’s oil sector. In June 2023, one of his companies, Belema Sweet Export Terminal Limited, secured a government license to develop a crude export terminal.
He pitched the facility as a breakthrough for local oil producers, estimating it could generate over $11 billion in revenue and handle exports of more than 400,000 barrels per day. The terminal was also designed to store up to eight million barrels of crude, offering an alternative to foreign-controlled export terminals.
Business legacy and philanthropy
Jack-Rich, who lost both parents at the age of ten, built a business empire that extends beyond BelemaOil. He launched J+G Global Gas & Oilfield Limited in 1998 and established subsidiaries providing oil and gas services. BelemaOil made history as the first indigenous exploration and production company founded by an oil-producing community in the Niger Delta.
Outside the oil business, Jack-Rich’s foundation has funded scholarships for hundreds of students in Canada, Ghana, Ukraine, the UK, the U.S., Malaysia, Nigeria, North Cyprus, and the Philippines. His organization has also provided clean drinking water to underserved communities and created more than 3,000 jobs for Nigerian youths, with plans to expand that number to 12,000 as part of a nationwide wealth-creation drive.
