Dr. Azibapu Eruani, founder and CEO, Azikel Group, is in charge of a business conglomerate ranked as the largest indigenous corporate organisation in the Niger Delta. The group’s operations are organised in four companies: Azikel Dredging, Azikel Air, Azikel Petroleum and Azikel Power.
The medical doctor and distinguished businessman, who drives the vision at Azikel Group, has his ideas and philosophies centered around sustainable development through industrialization, infrastructure development, energy sustainability and petroleum product sufficiency. His purpose is to steer the development of Nigeria’s people, generate employment opportunities and spread wealth.
The company has therefore placed its focus on areas that are critical drivers of societal development and sustainability where it has the highest expertise. The company’s operations have made great impacts on the Nigerian economy in each of its core businesses. These include dredging, sand filling/stockpiling of sand and reclamation services where it has established its competence.
The company has also responded to the collapse of the nation’s local crude oil refining capacity with its springing refinery technology that promises to ensure sufficiency of refined product in Nigeria. The effort is led by the desire to see Nigeria change its status as a net importer of refined petroleum products to become a net exporter.
Attainment of sustainable electric power output is another major pursuit of Azikel Group, which is aimed at providing adequate electricity to power industries and communities for increased productivity and enhanced living standards for the people. This fits into the company’s great purpose of leading the re-industrialization of the Nigeria by providing for self-sufficiency and sustainability in energy, power generation and infrastructural development.
Responding also to increased security challenges involved in the movement of people and goods in the country, Azikel Group has invested heavily in aviation services to ensure safe domestic and international travels by Nigerians.
Eruani has combined his diverse experience in medical practice, civil service and oil/gas industry with extensive training in business to press for solutions to pestering national issues and challenges. He has discovered entrepreneurship as a tool for self-actualization, industrialization, employment generation, empowerment of people and communities, wealth creation and sustainability and his mission is to extend these benefits up, down and across the Nigerian economy.
The group’s aviation services are operated by its subsidiary – Azikel Air, which offers scheduled and non-scheduled flights within and outside of Nigeria. The company has a fleet of helicopters, providing personnel movement to oil and gas offshore operations and fixed-wing aircraft for executive air services and business travels. It also offers private charter transportation services both within and outside Nigeria.
Azikel Air’s aircraft fleet includes Gulfstream G450, Gulfstream 200, Hawker 800XP, Augusta A109S Grand Executive Helicopter. Its capacity is further boosted by its access to a worldwide affiliate network of hundreds of aircraft to meet specific travel needs.
The fleet is made to achieve safety, efficiency and comfort, capacity for non-stop transcontinental crossings to destinations in Europe, UAE, UK and South Africa. Its helicopters are fit for the purpose of travelling around the Niger Delta and across the country in comfort and speed.
Petroleum refining operations of the group are carried out by its subsidiary company, Azikel Refinery, which has attained landmark completion stages. The pioneer private refinery project with Hydro skimming status plans a rollout of primary and secondary products. The primary products include premium motor spirit, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel.
Secondary products include heavy fuel oil or marine/furnace oil used in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or in turbine for power generation. The others are naphtha – which is intermediate hydrocarbon liquid stream and gas oil – which is an important constituent of lubricants.
The company’s dredging operations are powered by a fleet of dredgers comprising six specialized machines for onshore and offshore dredging. The onshore dredgers have the capacity for long distance dredging for land reclamation and sand stockpiling.
The company boasts a minimum stockpile of 500,000 cubic metres of premium sand for sale to individuals, suppliers, developers and contractors. It also offers coastal defence services with its proven technique for stabilizing shorelines and protecting river banks from erosion and flooding.
Azikel Group also operates a power generation subsidiary – Azikel Power Limited that operates on-grid 500 MW-capacity, natural-gas-fired plant. The pioneer private power plant project located in Bayelsa State, has a combination of highly efficient, low-emission, open-cycle gas turbines, which are powered by gas and heavy fuel oils. It is structured in line with the government’s gas master plan for reducing gas flaring and providing electricity from gas-fired power plants.
