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onestar Drilling, established in 1993, is one of Nigeria’s flagship indigenous drilling and rig workover services companies. Founded by Humphrey Idisi, the Port Harcourt-based firm is a major supplier to the local oil and gas industry, complete with its own rigs and transport fleet.
The first Nigerian drilling contracting firm, Lonestar’s origins can be traced back to the early 1990s when Mr Idisi took the opportunity to purchase several Shell-operated rigs and ancillary parts. A former Shell man himself, he combined his own extensive industry background with the new equipment to build a business that is now well and truly thriving.
As a young man when first taken on by Shell, he admits, “At that time, I didn’t even know what drilling implied within the oil and gas sector.” The Lonestar Chairman and Chief Executive now controls one of the country’s most sought-after indigenous oil groups.
The company accounts for about 7 per cent of the Nigerian drilling market. It is the only significant local provider of rigs amid a sea of foreign operators.
After securing its very
first job for a division of state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC), Lonestar began to generate interest among the multinationals,
building relationships that continue today.
During the past 10 years or so, it has conducted drilling and workover
assignments for most of Nigeria’s big oil operators throughout
the prolific Niger delta region and beyond. At the same time it has
expanded hugely. The company now owns a large yard and jetty in Sapele,
Delta State, to provide space for its land rigs, swamp barges, tugs
and other support vessels. In February, it took delivery of two additional
drilling barges from Maersk.
As well as marine transport,
it has a full complement of road haulers, cranes and trucks to facilitate
rig moves throughout the locale. With Nigeria’s oil and gas industry
moving into overdrive its services are in high demand.
What makes this even more impressive is that the company has succeeded
in the face of competition from some of the world’s largest drilling
corporations, including Global Marine and TransOcean. These firms have
even become customers, utilising Lonestar’s logistics facilities
for their own operations.
“We are sitting on 27 acres of land that is meant to house any service company in the oil industry,” says Mr Idisi. “So we are dining with all the big names in drilling.”
Success despite competition from leading drilling companies
He believes the role of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (Petan) is crucial to increased participation by indigenous companies in the industry. “Petan is a body of credible Nigerian entrepreneurs that are set to really give the oil companies value for their money.”
Tel: +44 20 76296213, Fax: +44 20 74953707 - [email protected]