Black-Owned Oil Company Number Two on BE 100s

CAMAC International Corporation

2009 Rank: 2 (Last Year: 2)

Chief Executive: Kase L. Lawal

Business Type: Oil, gas exploration, production and trading

Address: Four Oaks Place1330 Post Oak Blvd., Ste. 2200Houston, TX 77056

Staff: 300

Year Started: 1986

Website: http://www.camac.com/

Financial Information: 2008 Revenues: $2430.0 (In millions unless otherwise stated).

When Nigerian-born entrepreneur Kase Lawal, right, founded CAMAC International Corp. in 1986, the company traded barley, tobacco, and other grains from the United States to West Africa. Over the years, Lawal retooled his agricultural commodities enterprise into a global energy giant.

Today, the company explores, produces, processes, and trades crude oil, gas, and electric power throughout Africa, Europe, and South America.

Since 2002, the company and its affiliates have consistently earned $1 billion in revenues. CAMAC has held the No. 2 spot on the BE Industrial/Service Companies list for the fourth consecutive year; and in 2006, the Houston-based company was named BE Company of the Year.

With a 51.8% increase in revenues from $1.6 billion in 2007 to $2.43 billion in 2008, CAMAC International Corp. is one of the BE 100s top sales growth leaders. (Black Enterprise)