Heavy hitter searches for global reach
Al Njoo, chairman of the heavy oil-focused Benchmark Group and its subsidiary Madagascar Oil, is seeking to put the Indian Ocean island on the global hydrocarbons map
Al Njoo has been in the heavy oil business for three decades. His latest venture, Madagascar Oil, is on the verge of ramping up production from a pilot scheme on the world’s fourth largest island. His ambitions are larger still—turning Madagascar into major exporter and regional trading hub venue. The Indonesian is also principle of Singapore-based Benchmark Group, which owns a controlling stake in Madagascar Oil. Benchmark’s first three stream flood projects were developed by its Calgary-based subsidiaries Nations Energy and Nations Petroleum—of which Njoo was the founder and a director—in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and California. The Kazakh asset was acquired in 1997 via a privatisation. “Whe
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
