Ronke Sanya looks at the life of Kola Aluko, a Nigerian oil, gas and aviation tycoon who is
among the 50 richest Africans according to Forbes. Continue below...
Background
Kolawole Aluko was born in Lagos on 20 October, 1969. His mother is a pharmacist while his
father, Chief Akanni Aluko, is a high chief in Ilesa, Osun State. He attended Igbobi College in
Lagos. Speaking about his growing up years, Aluko was once quoted, “I was from an early age
very ambitious and I always knew I wanted to work for myself.”
Business career
Recently, according to Forbes, Seven Energy, a leading energy firm which was co-founded by
Aluko, closed a financing round that now values the company at nearly $1 billion. Temasek,
the investment holding company owned by the government of Singapore, made a $150 million
investment in Seven Energy, a privately-held Nigerian oil and gas exploration company that
Aluko co-founded in 2004.
In a press release issued by Seven Energy, the company said it plans to use the funds to
develop its growing portfolio of assets in Nigeria.
Aluko founded oil exploration company, Exoro Energy, in 2004 after a successful career in oil
trading. That same year, Exoro partnered with Energy Ventures International, a Nigerian
subsidiary of Weatherford, a Swiss-based oil and gas servicing firm, to market the latter’s
exploration and production technology in Nigeria. Energy Ventures subsequently changed its
name to Seven Energy, and in 2007, Aluko led a management buy-out of Seven Energy. The
company began acquiring Nigerian oil producing assets in 2009. Aluko left the company’s
management and board in 2011.
According to Forbes, his stake in Seven Energy is not his largest asset. This is his 50% stake
in Atlantic Energy, a private upstream Oil and Gas Company that has a very lucrative, Strategic
Alliance Agreement (SAA) with the government-owned Nigerian Petroleum Development
Company (NPDC) in relation to four oil-producing oil blocks – OML 26, OML 30, OML 34 and
OML 42. NPDC, which is the operating arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC), owns 55 per cent in each of these oil blocks, which collectively produce an average
of over 108,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Under the agreement Atlantic Energy currently
has with NPDC, Atlantic Energy funds NPDC’s share of the operating costs of the four oil
blocks by paying the latter’s entire cash obligations. In return for funding NPDC’s operating
and capital activity costs, Atlantic Energy gets back costs, meaning that NPDC pays back to
Atlantic Energy the initial money used to finance the operating costs, and also earns 35 per
cent of profits on the oil blocks.
Quoting its website, Forbes said Atlantic Energy has spent a little over $500 million on the oil
blocks over the last two years. The company is believed to have earned hundreds of millions
of dollars from its share of profits during the period. The government-owned NPDC has not
reported its share of the profits on the oil blocks it co-owns.
“As a result of his various stakes in oil companies and the profits they have thrown off, Kola
Aluko has been on the radar for the annual Forbes Billionaires List and Forbes list of Africa’s
50 Richest.
“Aluko, who has recently been in the media spotlight for his closeness to stars like Naomi
Campbell and Hollywood A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio, is also a co-founder of the Made In
Africa Foundation, a UK nonprofit that supports and funds master plans and feasibility studies
for large scale infrastructure projects across Africa. Avenue in New York and other homes in
Abuja and Geneva, Switzerland,” said Forbes.
His passion for race cars
According to a post on Nigeriavillagesquare, “Aluko is a passionate motor sports enthusiast.
He races and competes in conjunction with Swiss-based Ferrari team, Kessel Racing.
Aluko often cites the racing car driver, Ayrton Senna, as a main inspiration, drawing parallels
between racing, business and life in general. When asked on his advice for young
entrepreneurs, Aluko said: “The key is focus, focus and again focus. Identify the things you
are good at, your strengths, and get to work on your weaknesses. The racing car driver, Ayrton
Senna, a man who inspired me greatly, is a good example. Senna was an exceptional driver,
however, initially he was terrible in wet conditions, compared to racing in the dry, but he
identified his weakness, and so everytime it rained, he jumped into his car, and practised,
practised, practised, until he arguably became the best wet weather driver in history.”
His love for mansions and yachts
“In June 2012, he was reported to have purchased two luxury ultra-modern estates in Beverly
Hills, Los Angeles, California for $40 million.
He owns a 65-metre Galactica Star Yacht, which is said to cost above $50 million and he lives
in his $40 million home in Los Angeles and $8.6 million duplex on Fifth Avenue in New York
and other homes in Abuja and Geneva, Swit.
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