The story
Addax Petroleum was originally part of the Addax & Oryx Group of Companies (AOG) which was founded in 1987. In 1989, AOG embarked on an ambitious expansion programme with the aim of becoming a vertically integrated oil company focused on the African continent. This led to the creation of Addax Petroleum in 1994 by Marc Lorenceau, a partner from the AOG trading group. Addax's initial steps in the upstream business was the acquisition of the Espoir field offshore Ivory Coast that had been relinquished by Phillips Petroleum Company in 1988. Four years later, Addax Petroleum sold its remaining equity in the Espoir field to CNR (Canadian Natural Resources). During the decrease in the price of oil in 1998, Ashland Oil Nigeria's assets were up for sale. Perenco appeared to be the best bidder for Ashland's assets. However, the bidding process was overturned and these assets were awarded to Addax Petroleum for the official amount of twenty million US dollars.
After the death of Mr. Lorenceau in a ski accident in late 2001, Jean Claude Gandur was appointed as the company's Chairman and CEO before its takeover by the Sinopec Group in August 2009. Following the takeover, Mr. Geng Xianglang was appointed CEO, followed by Mr. Zhang Yi in 2010.
In 2017, Addax agreed to pay 31 million Swiss francs to the Swiss Federal Office of Justice in order to settle allegations over suspected bribery of foreign officials in Nigeria. Following an investigation by the Swiss criminal authorities, Addax's CEO and Legal Director were both charged for suspected violations of the Foreign Bribery Act. Sufficient evidence was not gathered over the legality of the payments and no criminal intent was established.
On 31 January 2023, the four major oil mining blocks associated with Addax's production sharing contract (PSC) in Nigeria were formally acquired by The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited. The acquisition included an exit agreement, transfer settlement, and agreement that Addax will cease to retain the PSC contract for its four major oil mining leases in Nigeria.
Chronology
1994: Addax Petroleum founded. PSC for Espoir field in Ivory Coast
1998: Acquisition of Ashland Nigeria assets. Company average production of 8,800 barrels (1,400 m3) of oil per day
1999: First drilling campaign in OML 123, offshore Nigeria
2000: OML 123 Ebuguu Northeast discovery, offshore Nigeria
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2001: OML 123 Adanga South discovery, offshore Nigeria. Death of founder Marc Lorenceau.
2002: Company average production of 40,000 barrels (6,400 m3) of oil per day. Ngosso Concession Agreement signed, offshore Cameroon
2003: OML 123 Oron West & North discoveries, offshore Nigeria. OML 124 drilling campaign, onshore Nigeria
2005: Addax is incorporated in Canada
Company average production of 75,000 barrels (11,900 m3) of oil per day. First Oil in OPL90 (OML 126) Okwori field, offshore Nigeria. 3 PSCs signed in the Nigeria/São Tomé & Principe Joint Development Zone (JDZ). Farm-in Agreement signed on Taq Taq field, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI)
2006: Listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Acquisition of Pan Ocean Energy's assets, onshore and offshore Gabon
2007: Company average production of 126,000 barrels (20,000 m3) of oil per day. Addax Petroleum Foundation established. Listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE)
2008: PSC on Iroko licence signed, offshore Cameroon
2009: Acquisition of Addax Petroleum by the Sinopec Group. First exports of crude from Taq Taq field, Iraqi Kurdistan
2011: Company average production of 140,000 barrels (22,000 m3) of oil per day. Acquisition of Royal Dutch Shell's upstream assets, offshore Cameroon. Sinopec-Addax Petroleum Foundation established
2012: Creation of Talisman-Sinopec Energy UK Ltd joint venture company. Acquisition of Total S.A.'s interest in OML 138, deep-offshore Nigeria. Opening of Houston office, United States
2013: Addax Petroleum promotes its corporate values, the first of it is "Integrity through Action".
2014: OML-138 Total S.A.'s interest acquisition, fails to receive Nigerian's authorities approval.
2015: Hit by the collapsing crude oil price and the lack of operational and exploration results, Addax Petroleum releases 70 people at its Geneva offices.
2016: Blaming Talisman and Repsol for their poor acquisition of the UK assets, Addax Petroleum seeks a US$5.5 bn arbitration against Talisman and Repsol
2016: Addax Petroleum long time external auditor, Deloitte, refuses to certify the company UK branch (APUK)'s balance sheet on suspicious payments from Geneva, the Isle of Man, and in Nigeria.
2017: Addax Petroleum's Chief Legal and Chief Executive Officers are arrested in Geneva on corruption of foreign officials charges. Eventually, Addax Petroleum agreed early July to pay 31 million Swiss francs to settle the charges with the Geneva justice department. In August, Addax Petroleum announced the shutting of its offices in Geneva, Houston and Aberdeen, thus releasing 174 people. The closure of these offices is expected to be completed on December 10, and fully effective on December 31, 2017.
2021: The Department of Petroleum Resources rescinded Addax licences
2021: President Muhammadu Buhari restored the rescinded licences to Addax
2023: NNPC Limited acquired the assets of Addax Petroleum's Nigerian PSC
2024: At the expiration of Addax Petroleum Gabonese assets of Tsiengui-Obangué, those are transferred to the Gabon Oil Company (GOC)
From Wikipedia’s article on Addax Petroleum, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4