2026 AOW: ENERGY – OPENING CEREMONY INDUSTRY KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY IPPG CHAIRMAN

Your Excellencies, Honourable Ministers, Distinguished Regulators, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, International Partners, Captains of Industry, Ladies and Gentlemen

1. On behalf of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), it is my profound honour to deliver this keynote address at the opening ceremony of AOW: Energy 2026, Africa’s premier conference for energy security, strategy, and policy dialogue. I bring warm greetings from Nigeria’s indigenous Exploration and Production companies and express our heartfelt gratitude to the Government and the people of the Republic of Ghana for their gracious hospitality in hosting this landmark gathering once again. I equally commend the organisers, Sankofa Events, for their steadfast dedication in convening this conference. I especially recognise the esteemed presence of His Excellency, John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, for once again making the time to join us at this conference. This is a strong demonstration of his unwavering commitment to the development of the continent’s energy sector and his enduring Pan-African vision for our continent’s prosperity.
2. For the IPPG, this is indeed a special occasion — it marks our first official appearance at AOW: Energy. As the umbrella body of indigenous Exploration and Production (E & P) companies in Nigeria — comprising thirty-four indigenous E & P companies — IPPG represents the foremost coalition of upstream players who, over the last decade, have evolved from marginal players into custodians of more than half of Nigeria’s crude oil and gas production. On that note, we affirm our long-term commitment to continental collaboration and to help shape the next chapter of Africa’s energy narrative.
3. Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, Africa today stands at an unprecedented crossroad — our continent is endowed with extraordinary hydrocarbon potential, much of it still undiscovered, undeveloped, or stranded. With underexplored basins stretching from the Gulf of Guinea and the MSGBC Basin — Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry — in the west, to the deepwater frontiers off Namibia, and the emerging acreages of the East African Rift and the Congo Basin, Africa holds more than 125 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves and upward of 620 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves — accounting for roughly 9% and 8% of global crude oil and natural gas reserves respectively. Yet, despite this geological abundance, our share of global exploration spending and upstream capital deployment remains disproportionately low at ~6%. This gap between endowment and investment is the single largest opportunity before us at this conference.
4. Africa remains the most energy-endowed continent on earth, and simultaneously the most energy-poor. This paradox shows up in our production numbers — Africa produces about 8 million barrels of crude oil daily yet refines barely half that amount despite rising continental demand; the result is a continent spending over $60 billion annually importing refined fuel. The gas production numbers tell an almost identical story: production reached roughly 262 billion cubic metres in 2025, against domestic consumption of about 185 billion cubic metres — meaning close to a third of what we produce leaves the continent. The result is extreme energy poverty, with close to 600 million Africans still living without access to electricity, and nearly 85% of the entire world’s electricity-access deficit sitting on our continent. Nearly a billion Africans still cook with wood and charcoal — a practice that alone claims over 800,000 lives every year, overwhelmingly women and children.
5. These alarming statistics presents Africa’s strategic outlook in a single frame: abundant resource, deficient capital, and an unacceptable energy poverty gap. For Africa, hydrocarbons are not merely a commodity for export — they are the catalyst for rapid industrialisation, job creation, and affordable, reliable energy access for our own people. As global energy demand continues to rise, Africa carries both an opportunity and a responsibility: to explore more, invest more, and produce more — not only to supply the world, but to power ourselves.
6. At this juncture, permit me to speak briefly on Nigeria and the steps being undertaken by the current administration to improve our energy security, and to offer, through Nigeria’s experience, a case study on how indigenous-led growth can reshape a nation’s energy destiny. Over the past decade, the international majors have executed a strategic rotation — out of mature onshore and shallow-water positions, and into deepwater and LNG. In Nigeria alone, we have seen an unprecedented sequence of divestments transfer some of the most historically productive acreage on the continent into indigenous hands. Just over three decades ago, indigenous operators accounted for less than 3% of Nigeria’s total production. Following the International Oil Companies (IOCs) divestments across onshore and shallow-water assets, Nigerian indigenous companies now contribute more than 50% of the nation’s crude oil and gas output, and a rapidly growing share of domestic gas supply. About 200,000bopd have been added to national production by just 3 operators over the last 12 months. This pattern is repeating across the continent, from Ghana to Gabon to Egypt.
7. The question the market asked, quite fairly, was: can they run it? The answer, increasingly, is on record. Through demonstrated world-class technical and operational competence, assets that were in decline have been returned to growth. Idle wells have been re-entered. Flares have been captured and monetised. Rig activity has increased. Field Development Plans that sat on shelves for years are being executed — because for an independent, that asset is not the fifteenth item in a global portfolio review. It is the entire company.
8. This laudable transition did not happen by accident. It was made possible by deliberate policy choices and institutional enablers: the sustained enforcement of local content requirements under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGICD Act), the structural clarity provided by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA 2021) and series of the Executive Orders issued by President Tinubu — together, these have supported the emergence of stronger indigenous oil and gas companies.
9. Nigeria’s own experience is instructive here, as we continue our transition from a commodity-exporting industry into a value-enhanced midstream and downstream sector. Today, Nigerian-owned companies are beginning to play more active roles across the energy value chain, penetrating areas once solely dominated by the IOCs. Indigenous operators now contribute over 60% of domestic gas utilisation across the country, supported by vastly increased refining capacity. A notable example is the Dangote Refinery, which now processes around 650,000 barrels a day. This is a clear demonstration of what happens when we finally refine what we produce: fuel imports fall, foreign exchange is preserved, jobs are created, and Nigeria is steadily moving from being a net importer of refined products toward becoming a net exporter. But let me be equally candid: this is not merely a commercial success story to be celebrated. It is a national responsibility and a test of stewardship. Every barrel and every molecule of gas now under our members’ control comes with an obligation — to invest for the long term, to operate at the highest level of social and environmental responsibility and good governance, and to prove we can deliver lasting value. For us at IPPG we are founded on a simple conviction: Collaboration for Energy Prosperity. Today, we extend that conviction beyond Nigeria’s borders. What our member companies have shown is possible at home, African producers — standing together, backed by African capital and African capacity — must now pursue across this continent.
10. Even as global energy demand continues to expand, international capital markets and traditional development finance institutions are steadily retreating from African oil and gas projects under the agenda of accelerated global decarbonisation — a retreat that has left, by industry estimates, over 150 essential projects stalled across our continent. This capital retreat comes at a precarious moment for a continent faced with energy poverty despite accounting for less than 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Our hydrocarbon resources must no longer be viewed merely as export commodities destined for overseas refineries and power grids; they must serve as the primary engine for African industrialisation and economic transformation. Africa holds both the sovereign right and the moral obligation to harness its resources to lift its people out of poverty. However, the window to monetise these resources is fast narrowing. The lesson is clear: if Africa does not move decisively to explore, invest, and produce today, the opportunity to transform our economies through our natural wealth will pass us by.
11. It is against this backdrop that I frame the substance of my remarks this morning: investment, exploration and production, infrastructure, and capacity building must together be the vehicles for Africa’s next energy chapter. IPPG puts before this platform five areas for urgent, collective action:
12. Financing Africa’s Own Future: The Africa Energy Bank According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Africa’s annual energy investment requirement — oil and gas development, power generation, distribution, and clean energy combined — is estimated to be over 200 billion dollars per year by 2030. Current investment stands just over 50% of this investment requirement — translating into a huge funding deficit. Africa is home to one-fifth of the world’s population, yet we attract only about 3% of global energy investment. If Africa is to secure its energy future in an era of international capital retreat, we must look inward and build our own institutional and financial resilience. A cornerstone of this financial sovereignty is the Africa Energy Bank (AEB), established through the strategic partnership of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) and Afreximbank, and headquartered in Abuja, backed by an initial capital base of US$5 billion — with an ambition to mobilise up to US$10 billion in its first phase and to grow toward US$15 billion by 2030. The AEB is purpose-built to bridge the upstream and midstream financing gap left by traditional global financiers. This is Africa’s clearest statement yet that we intend to finance our own hydrocarbon future, rather than wait indefinitely for others to do so. It is imperative African producers actively originate high-impact, bankable projects — because an institution built to finance Africa’s energy future is only as useful as the pipeline of investable projects our industry puts in front of it.

1. Monetising Gas Resources: Upgrade and Expand Gas Infrastructure A critical challenge to Africa’s energy security is our severe infrastructural deficit, particularly regarding gas. Today, natural gas already generates around 40% of this continent’s electricity. However, our ambition to close the remaining electricity gap using gas will require pipelines and processing infrastructure. Allow me to paint a stark picture of this deficit. Europe—a continent of just over 10 million square kilometres and 740 million people—has built over 200,000 kilometres of interconnected oil and gas trunk pipelines. Now, set that against our own continent. Africa is geographically three times the size of Europe with twice the population, yet our total gas pipeline infrastructure sits at under 50,000 kilometres. This scale of infrastructure cannot sustainably or impactfully monetise our 620 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves. Every conversation in this hall about upstream investment must therefore be paired with an equally serious commitment to midstream infrastructure. Reserves without pipelines are simply stranded molecules benefiting no one. Africa must begin to treat gas pipelines, power grids, and export facilities as strategic continental assets, ensuring the efficient and reliable supply of energy to both our domestic and export markets.

1. Deepening Market Integration: The African Continental Free Trade Area Capital alone does not take us to the promised land – it must move across a continent that trades freely with itself. We need not imagine what that looks like: the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) has, for fifteen years now, carried Nigerian gas into Benin, Togo and Ghana, terminating not far from where we gather today — proof that African resources can move through African infrastructure, on terms Africans negotiated for themselves. The AFCFTA offers a generational opportunity to extend that logic continent-wide, easing the cross-border movement of equipment, services, gas and product trade that our industry depends on. Too much of Africa’s energy value chain still operates as fragmented national markets rather than one integrated regional system. AfCFTA gives us the framework to build genuine regional value chains — in refining, in gas-to-power, in petrochemicals — that no single African market, on its own, can sustain at a competitive scale. We need a dedicated AfCFTA Energy Services Protocol to enable intra-African hydrocarbon trade, crossborder infrastructure and pipelines, and the establishment of a Pan-African Technical Exchange Programme to circulate skills and experience among our producing nations.

2025. Powering Our Transition: Leveraging Renewables As a continent blessed with abundant and rich renewable energy resources, we are yet to realise this potential and effectively build it into our energy mix. The numbers make this painfully clear. Africa attracted about 2% of global clean energy investment last year. Despite holding some of the finest solar resources on earth — by some estimates, 60% of the world’s best solar potential — yet we are harnessing barely 1% of our own solar capability endowment. Aside solar, Hydropower, geothermal energy along the Rift Valley, and wind along our coastlines give us a breadth of renewable resources that most regions of the world simply do not enjoy. Africa’s installed renewable capacity has grown in the past decade, from around 33 gigawatts in 2014 to 82 gigawatts in 2025. But growth of this kind, however encouraging, still leaves us harnessing only a fraction of what nature has given us. Let me be clear on one point: this is not a case of renewables instead of gas, or gas instead of renewables. It is a case of both, deployed together, to close Africa’s energy access gap and power our own industrialisation.

1. Building Africa’s Talent Base: Capacity as a Contractual Standard Finally, on capacity: we recommend that shared training, secondments, technical academies and structured technology transfer become a standard condition of new upstream partnerships across the continent — not an afterthought, but a contractual expectation. The talent that will run Africa’s oil and gas industry a generation from now is being built, or neglected, in the partnerships we sign today.

12. Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, for a century, African hydrocarbons have been developed primarily as an export commodity. Crude out, refined product in. Gas out, energy poverty retained. That model generated revenue for treasuries. It did not build industrial economies. The next chapter must be different. Africa’s energy must first power Africa. That means gas-to-power, gas-to-fertiliser, gas-to-industry. It means refining our own crude — as the emergence of major domestic refining capacity has begun to demonstrate. It means cross-border pipelines and regional gas markets under AfCFTA. It means petrochemicals, LPG for clean cooking, and reliable baseload power for manufacturing. Let me be precise about the moral architecture here. We are not asking for permission to pollute. We are asserting the right to develop. A continent responsible for 3% of emissions, holding 9% and 8% of oil and gas reserves respectively, and containing 60% of the world’s best solar resource, does not need to choose between hydrocarbons and renewables. We will build both, in the sequence our development requires — and we will do it with the lowest carbon intensity we can engineer.
13. As I round up, let me leave you with some tasks I hope we can all commit to this week and beyond. To the governments representatives: give us fiscal stability, faster permits and contract sanctity — and we will give you barrels, molecules and revenue. To financiers and insurers: price African risk on evidence, not on narrative. The operational record of the African independent now speaks for itself. To our international partners: the divestment era is not an exit. It is an invitation to a new kind of partnership — technology, capital and capability alongside local ownership and local urgency. And to my fellow independents: the assets have been handed to us. So has the responsibility. Our license to operate will be judged not by our production numbers alone, but by whether the communities around our fields have electricity, water, jobs and dignity. We have the geology. We increasingly have operators. What we must now build is the conviction — and the coalition — to convert. 14. The Africa Oil Week is not merely a conference; it is a marketplace of ideas, a catalyst for deals, and a platform for partnerships that will define Africa’s next energy chapter. Let us use this week to solidify agreements, launch the ventures, and make the commitments that will be measured in barrels produced, gigawatts generated, and lives transformed. 15. I thank you for your attention, and I look forward to a week of productive engagement as we unlock Africa’s next energy chapter, together.

Adegbite Falade Chairman, IPPG

Accra, 1st September 2026