By Funsho Arogundade

Prince Arthur Eze is one wealthy man with a difference. He is always in the news —mostly for good reasons. As one of Nigeria’s wealthiest, Eze stands tall as his name drips in oil wealth. For the billionaire magnate, he is not just a strategic and shrewd business leader but a combo of royalty, philanthropist, political influencer and visionary industrialist.

Eze is the founder and CEO of Atlas Oranto Petroleum —the largest privately-owned oil exploration company in Nigeria with African and global footprint. The company has 22 licences and scores of oil exploration blocks across the continent of Africa including Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, South Sudan, São Tomé and Príncipe, Uganda and Zambia.

In a landmark development in August 2024, the oil magnate fondly called ‘Ozo Igbo Ndu’ —The Saviour of Ndigbo, a traditional title bestowed upon him by his people— made his debut in the South American oil market by signing a prospecting agreement in Venezuela. That strategic entry into the Americas further underscores Eze’s Atlas Oranto’s ambitions on a global scale.

But Eze is not done, as he expands his footprints in Africa with his independent energy behemoth returning to Liberia water as it secured new four offshore exploration blocks in a move that could reinvigorate the West African nation’s oil and gas ambitions.

President Joseph Nyuma Boakai confirmed the signing of production sharing contracts (PSCs) between the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority and Atlas Oranto. The agreements, signed in Paris, France, cover blocks LB-15, LB-16, LB-22 and LB-24. It includes a $12 million signature bonus, with planned investments of $200 million per block. This marks Liberia’s first major oil exploration agreement in over a decade. Atlas Oranto’s entry aims to revitalise Liberia’s oil sector, bringing economic growth and technological expertise.

The Nigerian billionaire now awaits the Liberian legislature to ratify the deal so he can start explorations on the allotted blocks.