ORION GROUP SA, founded by Lucien Ebata, is an international investment and petroleum-trading company. Its core business is the marketing of crude oil and refined oil products.
 | |
| Industry | Energy (Oil and Gas) |
|---|---|
| Founded | Paris France |
| Founder | Lucien Ebata |
| Headquarters | Kinshasa , DRC |
Number of locations | Congolese Democratic Republic, Congolese Republic, United States, France, Belgium, Switzerland, RSA |
Key people | Lucien Ebata, Andrew Young, Olusegun Obasanjo, Andrea Young |
| Products | Crude oil |
| Website | www |
Overview
editORION GROUP SA was the result of a 2004 merger between Orion Enterprises and Minières Orion Enterprises, whose combined operations are processing and marketing of alluvial gold ore, jewellery diamonds, crude oil and refined products and logging. The company operates from various branches located in Abidjan, Brazzaville, Geneve and Kinshasa. In January 2023, the newspaper Liberation published an article on investigations carried out in France concerning the oil trading company Orion oil and its manager Lucien Ebata. Does it serve to siphon off the national oil company for the benefit of its leaders and those of the country? In any case, this is what the French investigators think, according to the daily. Lucien Ebata, also already implicated in the Panama papers tax evasion scandal, was indicted in October 2021 by the national financial prosecutor's office for "breach of the obligation to declare capital", "laundering" and " active bribery”. Following a large-scale investigation started in 2012 with his arrest at Roissy airport in possession of very large sums of undeclared money. In a statement to RFI, the Congolese government denounces "a defamatory publication" and announces that the Congolese government will file a complaint.[1].
Divisions
editOrion Oil LTD
editORION OIL LTD has gross revenues of over $1.1 billion,[1] and a member of the Infrastructure Partnerships for African Development (iPAD)[2] whose principal activities include the physical trading of crude oil and refined products including diesel, premium gasoline, jet fuel, fuel oil and other petroleum products worldwide and especially all along the African coast, from Senegal to South Africa. It is on both sides of the Congo River, namely Kinshasa, Pointe-Noire and Brazzaville as well as across the West and Central African regions and worldwide.[3] The company landed the largest loan syndication ever completed (as of December 2013) in Central Africa.[4]
Orion Cars
editOrion Cars provides a chauffeur, leasing, car rental and resale service for individuals and companies.
Orion Jet
editThis private charter service is Orion’s answer to the scarcity of frequent direct flights within and around Central and Western African regions.
Orion Investments
editOrion has made investments in the construction of pipelines, petrol station, and on-shore and off-shore storage units.
Orion Construction
editThis new division of Orion has partnered with a Spanish building technology company to build two factories for the construction of prefabricated houses, one on each bank of the Congo River.
Orion Ecological
editAdvocating for sustainable development in collaboration with governments, corporations, agencies, and NGOs to combat the deforestation of the second largest tropical rain forest in the world,[5] located within the Congo basin
References
edit- ^ * Paul Trustfull. "Bringing prosperity to Africa through private enterprise : A look at Lucien Ebata and Orion oil" (PDF). Forbes Custom : The Best of Africa. p. 6. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ "Exclusive round-table for access to DRC's oil and gas sector". Africa Business. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- ^ "Member : Orion Oil". African Refiners Association. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- ^ "Ecobank Capital, Orion Oil Sign $500m Pre-Export Finance Deal". Ventures Africa. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
- ^ Oijen, D. V. (July 25, 2013). "Cutting to the truth on Congo Basin deforestation". Green Peace. Retrieved 16 April 2014.