Arthur Eze’s Oranto Petroleum is facing mounting pressure across Africa as it loses exploration rights in multiple countries, raising fresh concerns about the company’s ability to sustain its upstream oil portfolio.
The Nigerian oil tycoon has failed to secure permit renewals in both Uganda and South Sudan, with authorities in both cases citing insufficient exploration activity.
Earlier this month, Business Insider Africa reported that South Sudan declined to renew Oranto’s Block B3 exploration licence, pointing to years of inactivity, including the absence of seismic surveys, drilling operations, and required financial commitments since 2017, according to the country’s Ministry of Petroleum.
South Sudanese officials confirmed in late April that the Block B3 licence, which Oranto had held for six years, would not be renewed, Billionaires Africa reported.
In Uganda, authorities also refused to extend the Ngassa Deep exploration permit, again citing limited progress on exploration work. The Ugandan government has additionally moved to recover a $2.4 million performance guarantee deposited by Oranto at Guaranty Trust Bank in 2017, which had been intended to secure the company’s exploration commitments.
