Benedict Peters

Benedict Peters is a Nigerian billionaire[2] who founded the Aiteo Group, Nigeria's largest indigenous oil producing firm.[3] As of November 2014, he had an estimated net worth of US$2.7 billion.[4] He is ranked by Ventures Africa as the 17th richest person in Africa and the 7th richest in Nigeria.[5]

Benedict Peters
Born
Benedict Peters

(1966-12-05) 5 December 1966
Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria
EducationGeography and town planning
Alma materUniversity of Benin, Benin
OccupationFounder and Executive Vice Chairman, Aiteo Group
Net worth$2.7 billion (February 2016)[1]
Children4
Websitewww.benedict-peters.com

Early life and development

Peters hails from Onicha Oloma in Delta state and was born in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State to a banker and a homemaker.[6] He attended Ekulu Primary School, Enugu and Federal Government College Enugu, after which he proceeded to University of Benin, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) Hons degree in Geography and Town Planning.[7]

Career

Peters began his career in the oil and gas industry in the early 1990s, working with the founders of Ocean and Oil, the entity now known as Oando Nigeria Plc, Adewale Tinubu, Mofe Boyo and Onajite Okoloko.[8] He moved to MRS Oil Nigeria PLC as Group Executive Director, ending as its Managing Director, before leaving in 1999 to establish Sigmund Communecci.[9]

In February 2008, Peters founded the Aiteo group (Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited), the successor entity to Sigmund Communecci.[10] The company owns one of the largest petroleum tank farms in Nigeria with facilities in excess of over 250 million litres on over 100,000 square meters of landmass[11] It also owns and operates the Abonnema Storage Terminal.[12]

In 2014, Aiteo acquired a controlling stake in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 and the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) in the Eastern Niger Delta from Royal Dutch Shell Plc.[13][14] According to Wood Mackenzie, "OML 29 is a large block located in the southeastern Niger Delta. It contains 11 oil and gas fields".[15] "The 983-square-kilometre OML 29, onshore in the Niger Delta region, is the site of Nigeria's first-ever commercial discovery", in 1956 at the Oloibiri Oilfield.[16]

Peters is also rapidly diversifying with his founding of Aiteo Power, of which he is chairman.[17] He leads the Aiteo Consortium and EMA Consortium which has won separate bids to acquire three power generating companies[18] and is set to build a 100,000 barrel refinery in oil-rich Warri in Delta State.[19]

In April 2017, Aiteo Group announced the signing of a five-year partnership agreement with the Nigeria Football Federation worth an estimated N2.9b.[20] In the capacity of Official Optimum Partner of the NFF, Aiteo's support funded the salaries of Super Eagles boss Gernot Rohr and coaches of all NFF's national teams. Peters told the media that "Aiteo Group is as passionate about leadership as Nigerians are about football,[21] so we are proud to be working together with the NFF and its coaching staff to reach a shared goal of a more prosperous Nigeria".[20]

Awards

On August 5, 2014 in Washington DC, Peters was one of four recipients of the Marquee Award for Global Business Excellence at the Africa-US Leadership Awards dinner,[22] hosted by African Energy Association, "a non-profit organization of experienced negotiators, advisors and high-level energy advocates".[23] Leadership, an Abuja, Nigeria based national newspaper, named him the "Leadership CEO of the Year 2014" for championing a local content deal facilitating a greater capacity to manage oil assets in his native country, Nigeria.[24][25][26][27] On 18 January 2015, Peters was given the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Awards in the "Economic Empowerment" category in an event held in Washington, DC's Willard Hotel.[28] Benedict Peters was listed among the 50 Most Influential Nigerians in 2017 by BusinessDay Newspaper in Nigeria.[29] In June 2018, he was also named by The Guardian (Nigeria) as Oil and Gas CEO of the Year.[30][31][32] Buiness Day's Man of the year 2019[33]

Personal life

Peters is married and has four children.[34] In 2017 the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Abuja ordered the immediate lift of an Interim Forfeiture Order on Peters properties in the UK. The Interim Forfeiture Order was obtained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC. The court accused the EFCC of "gross misstatements, concealment and misrepresentation of facts".[35]

References
  1. "The Richest People in Africa". The Richest People in Africa. Ventures Africa. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  2. Mining in Africa, 5 April 2016. Retrieved on 2 April 2017
  3. Business Day Online "Five fascinating business facts – Part 8", Business Day Newspaper, 13 March 2017. Retrieved on 2 April 2017
  4. Ventures Africa "Nigeria's Four Newest Billionaires", Ventures Africa, 12 November 2014. Retrieved on 2 April 2017
  5. Ventures Africa "The Richest People in Africa", Ventures Africa, 11 November 2014. Retrieved on 2 April 2017
  6. Keren, Mikva. "12 Things You Didn't Know About Nigerian Billionaire Benedict Peters". AFKInsider. Moguldom Media Group. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  7. Keren, Mikva. "12 Things You Didn't Know About Nigerian Billionaire Benedict Peters". AFKInsider. Moguldom Media Group. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  8. "The Authority Icon: BENEDICT PETERS" Archived 21 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine, The Authority Newspaper, 11 October 2016. Retrieved on 25 March 2016
  9. "Meet Benedict Peters: The New Face of Nigeria's Energy Revolution". www.ibtimes.com.au. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  10. "The Rise of Nigerian Oil and Gas Companies". Arab Anti-Corruption Organization. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAG-Org). Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  11. Thanapathy, Shanaka (3 October 2017). "Benedict Peter's Aiteo Group leading the charge for African energy". The South African. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  12. Awaji, Justus. "Compensation: Rumuwoji, Abonnema Wharf Residents Sing Discordant Tunes". The Tide. The Tide Newspaper Corporation. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  13. Nandakumar, Abhiram (25 March 2015). "Shell completes sale of OML 29, Nembe Creek pipeline in Nigeria". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  14. Alike, Ejiofor (26 March 2015). "NNPC, Shell, Aiteo Conclude Sale of OML 29, Nembe Creek Trunkline". ThisDay Newspapers. Leaders & Company Limited. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  15. "OML 29". Wood Mackenzie. Wood Mackenzie. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  16. "Nigerian banks took key role in Aiteo deal". The Oil and Gas Year. The Oil & Gas Year Limited. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  17. Marks, Dan (10 April 2014). "Another step forward for the power sector as international investors bide their time" (PDF). African Energy (275): 2. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  18. "NIPP Transaction – Preferred Bidders". NIPP Transactions. Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited. Archived from the original on 5 September 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  19. "Aiteo to build 100,000bpd refinery in Warri". Energy Mix Report. The Energy Mix (Nigeria) Limited. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  20. Okeleji, Oluwashina (26 April 2017). "The Nigeria Football Federation gets financial boost". BBC News. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  21. "Benedict Peters, Ahmad Ahmad: Two leaders with one vision for African football - Vanguard News". Vanguard News. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  22. Mariama-Arthur, Karima. "Bridging the Intercontinental Leadership Divide: African Energy Association to Host Inaugural Dinner". Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  23. "About us". African Energy Association. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  24. "LEADERSHIP CEO Of The Year 2014 – Benedict Peters (Founder, Aiteo Group)". Leadership Newspaper. Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  25. "Nigeria's Top 30 Corporate Deals of 2014". Ventures Africa. Ventures Africa. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  26. "List of 'All' The Major Corporate Deals That Took Place In Nigeria – 2014". Nairametrics. Nairametrics. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  27. Anjli Raval and Javier Blas (27 August 2014). "Shell-led group close to selling Nigeria oilfields for $5bn". Financial Times. The Financial Times Ltd. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  28. Abayomi, John. "Adefuye honours six with Martin Luther King Awards". Vanguard. Vanguard Media Limited. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  29. "50 Most Influential Nigerian in 2017" (PDF). BusinessDay Online. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  30. "Firms, CEOs, others receive The Guardian oil, gas awards". Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  31. "AITEO Takes Three Awards At the Guardian's Oil and Gas Roundtable • Connect Nigeria". connectnigeria.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  32. [33]
  33. Stevens, Epa (28 December 2019). "Benedict Peters: Two Decades of Leadership Excellence in Africa". Business Day.
  34. "Benedict Peters - CEO Aiteo Group". Benedict Peters. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  35. "Court Orders Immediate Release of UK Properties Belonging to Aiteo Boss, Benedict Peters". Ventures Africa. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
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