SPE Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) 2026
Keynote Speech
Keynote Address by Engr. Effiong Okon, Chief Executive Officer, Seplat Energy Plc
“Collaborative Growth and Resilience in an Evolving Global Energy Landscape”
Protocols
Distinguished leaders and members of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Nigeria Council; senior government and regulatory officials; JV Partners, captains of industry; colleagues across the energy ecosystem; ladies and gentlemen – good morning.
It is a pleasure to join you at the 49th edition of NAICE. For nearly five decades, this conference has remained one of Nigeria’s most important meeting points for great minds, the technical, commercial and policy conversations that shape our industry. On behalf of Seplat Energy Plc, I warmly congratulate SPE Nigeria Council, its leadership, volunteers and members for sustaining this platform with such professionalism and purpose.
This occasion is also personally meaningful. I have been a member of SPE since my University of Benin days in the late 80s, and I know the value this organisation brings – talent feedstock, people development plant, discipline, mentorship, standards and the quiet work of building generations of energy leaders. Today is also my first day at work as the Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy Plc. So, it is a great privilege and a pleasure that one of my first assignments is with the SPE community.
The moment we are in
This year’s theme: ‘Thriving in the Evolving Global Energy Landscape: Collaborative Growth and Resilience’ – is apt for this moment.
Let us begin with the first principles. There are no prosperous societies without energy sufficiency. Energy is not an abstract idea. Energy is the ability to move goods, power hospitals and schools, process food, run factories, underpin industrialization, drive prosperity, and create productive work. When energy is reliable and affordable, opportunity expands. When it is scarce or volatile, everything else becomes harder.
Energy systems do not move by slogans; they depend on physics, infrastructure, capital, policy, technology, and execution. This underscores the need for collaboration among all stakeholders to build resilient energy systems.
Geopolitics and energy security
The recent geopolitical events have made this very clear. The conflict in Europe, renewed instability in the Middle East, attacks on energy infrastructure and uncertainty around maritime routes remind us that energy security is not old-fashioned. It is the platform on which economies stand.
In the last few weeks, the Strait of Hormuz has again become the world’s most important energy risk route. CNBC reported that, in the week through 20 July 2026, Lloyd’s List Intelligence recorded only 53 vessel transits through the Strait, down from 157 the previous week, while tanker and gas-carrier movements fell from 90 to 30. Kpler data also showed daily crossings falling from more than 20 before 15 July to single digits on 16 July. For a corridor that carries roughly a fifth of global oil consumption, that is not just a shipping statistic; it is a warning about how fragile global supply chains can become.
There is also a wider macroeconomic impact. United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has warned that the full effects of the Strait of Hormuz disruption may only become clearer in the second half of 2026, as higher transport, insurance, fuel and supply-chain costs move through the broader economy. It also notes that the Strait is relevant not only for crude and LNG, but also for fertiliser trade – which means prolonged disruption can impact food production and food prices.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) July 2026 Oil Market Report makes the same point from the supply side. It reports that global oil supply rebounded by 4.1 million barrels per day in June to 98.8 million barrels per day as flows through Hormuz partially resumed. However, world output was still around 9.4 million barrels per day below pre-war levels. The report also notes that refined product markets remained tight because crude flows recovered faster than refining activity and product exports. In plain terms, the world can have crude in motion and still have pressure in diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and LPG markets.
For Nigeria and Africa, the message is direct. The world is asking who can deliver energy reliably when the system is stressed. This is Nigeria’s moment to lead by improving uptime, securing routes, delivering more products to the market and deepening gas infrastructure, inspiring confidence in our role globally.
Demand and supply trends
The latest demand and supply trends suggest three realities.
First, demand is resilient but uneven. The IEA sees oil demand recovering from its May 2026 low of 104 million barrels per day, with consumption expected to rise by more than 8 million barrels per day by October compared with that low point. OPEC expects demand growth in 2026 and stronger growth in 2027, again largely led by non-OECD economies.
Second, supply is available but fragile. The world can have crude supply and still face tight product markets. The IEA noted that refined product cracks and margins surged to four-year highs in early July because crude flows improved faster than refinery operations and product supply. Energy security is therefore not only about reserves; it is about the full chain (reservoir to markets) –subsurface, wells, pipelines, processing, refineries, storage, ports, power plants, offtakers and payment discipline.
Third, capital is selective. Investors are not simply asking who has barrels. They are asking who can produce safely, at competitive cost, with lower emissions intensity, credible governance, strong community relationships and predictable cash flows. The era of credible execution has begun.
The evolving landscape: energy addition
The global energy landscape is also being reshaped by the digital economy. Artificial intelligence, cloud computing and data centres are becoming major sources of electricity demand. The IEA projects that global electricity supply to meet data-centre demand could rise from 460 TWh in 2024 to over 1,000 TWh by 2030.
This means energy security is no longer only about powering households, mobility and industry. It is also about powering the infrastructure of intelligence: servers, chips, cooling systems, secure grids and always-on digital services. Countries that can provide reliable, affordable and progressively cleaner electricity will be better placed to attract the next wave of technology investment.
For Nigeria, the implication is clear. If we want to compete in data centres, fintech, industrial automation, digital services and AI-enabled enterprise, we must expand electricity supply, deepen gas-to-power, strengthen transmission and integrate renewables where they are commercially and technically viable.
That is why, for Nigeria, the right frame is energy addition, not energy subtraction.
We need access to energy, more reliable electricity, more gas into industry, more LPG and cleaner cooking, more responsible oil production, more transmission and distribution capacity, more renewables where they are competitive, more technology, more skills and more investment.
The transition for a country like Nigeria cannot mean removing energy from a system that already has too little. It must mean adding cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable energy to power development without compromising existing industries. By balancing traditional oil and gas with renewables and cleaner technologies, Nigeria can ensure a just transition that benefits all stakeholders and sustains economic growth.
Gas is central to that future. The IEA’s Gas Market Report says global LNG supply returned to double-digit growth in the second half of 2025, supported by new projects in the United States, Canada and Africa, and that LNG growth is expected to accelerate in 2026 as natural gas demand reaches a new all-time high. That is a strong signal: gas remains central to security, flexibility and industrial growth.
Africa and Nigeria: from potential to performance
For Africa, the opportunity is enormous, but not automatic. We have resources, young populations, growing cities, large energy deficits and industrial ambition. But resource ownership alone does not create prosperity.
Prosperity comes when gas molecules become electrons, electrons becomes production, production become jobs, jobs become income, and income strengthens families, communities and countries.
Nigeria’s task is clear: convert resource potential into reliable national value. In 2025, Nigeria produced about 554.4 million barrels of crude oil and condensate, with average crude and condensate output around 1.63 million barrels per day, according to NUPRC figures reported publicly. That is an important base, but we can do more: improve uptime, reduce losses, reactivate idle capacity, deepen gas monetisation, shorten project cycles and build investor confidence.
Gas must sit at the centre. Gas is not just Nigeria’s transition fuel; it is Nigeria’s industrialisation fuel. It can power factories, fertiliser, petrochemicals, data centres, embedded power, CNG, LPG, exports and cleaner cooking. But gas only creates value when upstream supply, processing, pipelines, tariffs, creditworthy offtake and industrial demand work together.
Seplat examples: execution in practice
At Seplat Energy, our purpose is to deliver reliable energy and limitless potential for Nigeria and Africa. That is not a slogan; it is an operating challenge.
In 2025, our enlarged business delivered average working interest production of 131,506 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 148 per cent year-on-year. We restored 49 idle offshore wells, adding 48.6 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day of gross production capacity. We ended the year with a 2P plus 2C resource base of approximately 2.49 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Those numbers show what disciplined integration, well restoration and capital allocation can do.
On gas, Seplat processed 172 MMscfd net working interest gas in 2025 and supplies up to 30 per cent of Nigeria’s grid-connected gas for power. Oben and Sapele provide 555 MMscfd of processing capacity, while ANOH adds 300 MMscfd. ANOH achieved first gas in January 2026; in the first quarter, it delivered steady gross processed dry gas of around 50 to 55 MMscfd to Indorama, and by the end of April reached a peak processing rate of about 193 MMscfd despite condensate evacuation constraints.
These examples speak directly to this conference theme: collaborative growth, because projects require partners, regulators, communities, financiers, customers and our people; and resilience, because projects become real only when teams solve constraints and keep going.
In 2026 we are set to beat the 2025 performance when you look at our recently released Q2 and H1 2026 performance.
NNPCL has set a 2030 ambition of 3 million barrels per day and 12 Bscf/d, we are very much behind this goal.
A practical agenda
So what should we do as an industry? I suggest five priorities.
First, we have to be competitive in order to attract investment, protect energy security. Infrastructure reliability, evacuation routes, metering, safety and asset integrity should be treated as national competitiveness issues.
Second, build gas-to-industry, not gas-to-announcement. Every molecule should have a market; every market should have infrastructure; every infrastructure project should have accountable delivery.
Third, produce lower-cost and lower-carbon barrels. The world will still need oil and gas, but it will prefer competitive barrels, responsibly produced and progressively lower in emissions intensity.
Fourth, make collaboration practical: faster approvals, better data, aligned incentives, shared infrastructure, stronger local capacity and policy consistency.
Fifth, develop people. The future will be delivered by engineers, geoscientists, project managers, economists, technicians, digital specialists, community professionals and leaders. SPE’s role in building that human infrastructure is critical.
Closing
Ladies and gentlemen, the future is not something that happens to us. It is something we build.
Nigeria has the resources. Africa has the demand. The world needs secure, affordable and progressively cleaner energy. The question is whether we will execute with the discipline, speed and resilience that this moment requires.
At Seplat, our answer is yes: yes to responsible oil, yes to gas-led industrialisation, yes to lower-carbon operations, yes to partnerships, yes to Nigerian capability, yes to African energy leadership, and yes to energy addition.
Seplat has always been proud to support SPE and NAICE. We remain committed to working with SPE, the Nigerian government, our partners, host communities, financiers and all stakeholders to advance a stronger, safer, more resilient and more productive energy sector.
I wish SPE Nigeria Council and all delegates a successful conference and fruitful deliberations. May the conversations here lead to practical ideas, stronger partnerships, executable activities, more investments and renewed confidence in the future of Nigeria’s energy industry. Thank you, and I wish you all a very productive NAICE 2026
