Nigeria’s quest for energy security and sustainable growth took centre stage at the 2025 Africa Energy Week (AEW) Conference & Exhibition in Cape Town, South Africa, as Seplat Energy Plc outlined how its focus on asset integrity, disciplined acquisitions, and more than $4 billion in financing have positioned it as a critical player in the nation’s oil and gas sector.
Speaking during a Fireside Chat titled ‘Assets Acquisition Success Strategies: Seplat Energy’, Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy Plc, Roger Brown, said the company has achieved unprecedented growth since it was founded by acquiring divested assets, unlocking value from them, improving efficiency and safety performance of the assets, while driving the entire growth process with a world-class and resilient people (workforce).
Brown explained that Seplat has successfully integrated major acquisitions over the last decade, each time improving efficiency, safety performance, and reducing routine emissions.
On its most recent acquisition, he noted that the company’s strategy was to move quickly to re-engage wells and facilities resulting in the delivery of immediate results; investing early in integrity and reliability.
thus reducing downtime while setting a foundation for future growth.
According to him, cultural alignment was critical to achieving seamless operations. “We found strong cultural alignment with our new colleagues, and that’s been key to seamless performance. We’ve welcomed their expertise and insights and the entire Group is benefiting from them,” he said.
Brown stressed that this focus on operational integrity has translated into measurable results as the combination of Seplat’s onshore experience with decades of offshore know-how from new colleagues have built a stronger operation which is already delivering higher cash flow.
“The recent reserves upgrade shows we have acquired a high-quality asset with significant production potential in both oil and gas, and much of this is within easy reach, close to export infrastructure that we control. We are confident we can increase production and that aligns with the government’s target to increase liquids production to 3.0 MMbbl, and to increase gas production for both domestic energy and export markets,” Brown added.
He noted that Seplat’s operational approach was driven by a strong operator mindset, focusing on assets where its capabilities could unlock hidden value.
“We’ve already proven we can acquire assets onshore and bring them up to high levels of production, while keeping tight control of costs, and this has helped us build up a strong balance sheet, invest in our future and return a healthy dividend stream to investors,” he stressed.
In a separate session, Seplat’s Chief Financial Officer, Eleanor Adaralegbe, highlighted how financing has underpinned the company’s growth strategy, noting that since inception, the company has raised over $4 billion in debt to fund acquisitions and develop operations while maintaining a leverage threshold of below 1.5x through the cycle.
She explained that the company has tapped multiple financing instruments, including an Initial Public Offer (IPO), Revolving Credit Facility (RCF), bonds, and an Advance Payment Facility. These, she said, were complemented by strategic moves such as taking over the $110 million RBL during the 2019 Eland acquisition and securing $320 million project financing for ANOH, Seplat’s 50/50 joint venture with the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company, a subsidiary of NNPC.
