Abdullahi Haske: The New Oil and Gas Whizkid

To say that wonders will never cease is a cliché best left alone. But there is no other cliché that comes close in summarising how Abdullahi Haske, renowned entrepreneur, private investor, and founder and group MD of AA&R Investments, an expanding chain of oil-industries companies, got his ownership signature onto 51% of the oil blocs recently repossessed from Addax Petroleum. It’s magic or craft or influence—that’s how Haske managed the seemingly impossible.

To those who know one or two things about Abdullahi Haske, the 37-year-old man is a humble businessman, one of those young ‘uns that have only begun to tread the path of making a name for themselves. He has some connection to the political powers that be, but certainly not enough to bruise anybody, correct? Wrong! Perhaps the only truth in the former assertion is that Haske is 37 and humble. All else is up for debate, particularly after Haske smashed the expectation of folks by artfully taking over a little more than half of the oil blocs reclaimed from Addax.

It made news when the Nigerian government revoked four licences (OML 123, 124, 126, and 137) formerly controlled by Addax Petroleum. The gist was that Addax had failed to perform its end of the deal, and the government would be returning the licenses to the original Chinese owners. Well, reports claim that only the first part of this report is true—but the government did not return any licence to any Chinese company. Instead, 49% was sold to two indigenous companies, Emeka Offor’s Kaztec Engineering (20%) and ABC Orjiakor’s Salvic Petroleum Resources (29%). Of course, the surprise of all surprises was that the remaining 51% reportedly went to esteemed Abdullahi Haske.

According to reports, Haske has now become a champion of politics and business, particularly in Abuja. Far-seeing folks have begun to send him greeting gifts to befriend him. It will not come as a surprise if he gets a dozen marriage proposals soon enough. A smart and influential man is indeed a person worth befriending. And who is Abdullahi Haske if not a smart and influential man? And a man who reportedly owns 51% of a profitable set of oil blocs!