Addax Petroleum was established in 1994 and since August 2009, has been a subsidiary of the Sinopec Group, one of the largest oil and gas producers in China, the biggest oil refiner in Asia and the third largest worldwide. Addax Petroleum was an international gas and oil production and exploration company mainly focused on the Middle East, the North Sea and Africa. Since its founding, the company has become one of the largest oil producers in West Africa.
History
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 the 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.