May 25, (THEWILL) — The five-year growth plan recently unveiled by Seplat Energy Plc, will significantly advance Nigeria’s local content policy by increasing indigenous participation, enhance technical capacity, and boost domestic energy supplies.
The unveiling of the 5-year plan comes on the heels of the commencement of production in January 2026 at Seplat Energy’s 300 MMcfd ANOH gas project situated in Imo State – a project that also represents a significant milestone in the nation’s ‘Decade of Gas Initiative’ (DoG), which was introduced in March 2021.
The DoG aims to convert Nigeria into a gas-powered economy and an African gas powerhouse by the year 2030, utilising the country’s extensive natural gas reserves for power generation, industrialization, domestic gas consumption, and exports.
The ANOH gas plant, a joint venture between Seplat Energy and Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company, consists of two 150 MMscfd gas processing units, LPG recovery and condensate stabilisation units, a 16MW power plant, and supporting facilities. The plant operates with zero routine flares and is part of Seplat’s strategy to achieve its onshore End of Routine Flaring programme.
Besides enhancing the DoG, the project significantly advances Nigeria’s local content policy by increasing indigenous participation, enhancing technical capacity, and boosting domestic energy supplies.
As a joint venture between Seplat and the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC), the project exemplifies the shift towards local, indigenous-led energy development.
Industry experts emphasise that the strategic acquisition of the formerly owned international oil companies’ (IOC) facilities by Nigerian investors, and the historic emergence of Seplat’s ANOH plant, is a landmark achievement by the indigenous oil and gas operators.
The coming of the 5-year plan is seen as opportunity for the Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board (NCMDB) to advance its mandate, by accelerating its involvement and exploring strategic opportunities in the local content space.
“The primary objective of NCDMB is to promote and develop Nigerian content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, ensuring the growth and utilisation of local capabilities, goods, and services. The 5-year strategic growth plan instituted by Seplat will accelerate the local content benefits that the initiative provides,” said Engr. Adedmola Kolawole, an energy expert.
“The ANOH gas project strongly aligns with Seplat Energy’s mission of leading Nigeria’s energy transition with accessible, affordable, and reliable energy that drives social and economic prosperity. The ANOH gas plant is the first of the Seven critical gas projects identified by government and Seplat is honored to be an equal 50/50 partner to NNPCL in this ANOH Gas Processing Company Limited (AGPC) incorporated joint venture (IJV),” said Roger Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy, at the commissioning of the project in May 2024, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The development and operation of the plant in Imo State provides thousands of jobs for local workers and support local community contractors, furthering the objectives of the NCDMB.
The ANOH project is identified as one of the seven critical gas development projects by the Federal Government, making it a ‘poster child’ for local content implementation.
Gas sector capacity enhancement targets massive investments to build, upgrade and enhance the capacities of manpower and institutions and manpower development infrastructure in the gas sector.
The NCDMB has a huge role to play in this regard as the flagship institution for content development and capacity building in the oil and gas sector along with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) and specialised oil and gas higher institutions of learning in Nigeria.
The expertise acquired by the Nigerian operators in Engineering, Procurement, Installation, Operation and Maintenance (EPICOM) space equips them to undertake a wide range of technical jobs in the opportunities created by the Seplat’s AHON project.
On the human capacity development side, the NCDMB is partnering with educational institutions and skill acquisition centres towards equipping Nigerian youths for the challenge of managing the facilities acquired or built by indigenous operators.
For instance, the NCDMB and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), with its joint venture (JV) partners built a world-class engineering design studio and an information and communication technology (ICT) hub at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Imo State.
The Seplat’s 5-year strategic plan which was disclosed at Seplat’s post-Annual General Meeting (AGM) media briefing in Lagos by the Chairman, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma aimed at ramping up oil production to 500,000 barrels per day, as the company consolidates gains from the acquisition and integration of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, MPNU.
“When I took over three years ago at the first AGM, we made some commitments as a board. Our commitment was that we would complete the MPNU acquisition, and before the end of that year, we achieved that target,” Udoma said. Under the new plan, he said Seplat targets 200,000 bpd for the legacy company and 500,000 bpd for total joint venture production.
He noted that integration with MPNU had made Seplat larger, more diversified, and better positioned to achieve its set goals, saying that the production has already more than doubled, with the target to triple it.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Roger Brown, said that MPNU integration has given Seplat significant scale and made it a much bigger, and more robust company.
He disclosed that Seplat now operates 11 blocks comprising seven onshore and four offshore, with 48 producing fields, 5 gas plants, and 1.1 billion barrels of 2P reserves split evenly between oil and gas. With 2C resources, he said that the total working interest reserves has now risen to 2.5 billion barrels, adding that the scale is already showing in stronger revenues and profits.
Seplat Energy Plc recently crossed a historic threshold on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), with its share price breaching the N10,000 mark for the first time – a milestone that signals more than a market rally, reflecting a structural re-pricing of Nigeria’s energy equities.
The surge was catalysed by a 20.07 percent equity acquisition by Tony Elumelu through Heirs Energies, a transaction valued at approximately $496 million to $500 million. Since the deal closed on December 31, 2025, Seplat’s share price has climbed from N5,809 at the start of January to over N10,450 by mid-April 2026, representing a gain of N4,641 or roughly 80 percent within just over 100 days.
This sharp upward movement has expanded the company’s market capitalisation from about N3.36 trillion to N6.27 trillion, translating into a paper wealth increase of nearly N2.9 trillion for shareholders within the first quarter of 2026 alone.
Seplat’s positioning as a triple-play asset combining exposure to oil production, dollar earnings, and domestic gas infrastructure appears to differentiate it from traditional energy stocks and may justify a sustained premium.
The company’s 2026 production guidance of between 135,000 and 155,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, representing a potential 10 percent increase, further supports the outlook for continued earnings growth.
Ultimately, Seplat’s breach of the N10,000 mark represents more than a symbolic milestone. It reflects a convergence of strong operational performance, strategic capital flows, currency dynamics, and market structure constraints.
While the “Elumelu effect” provided the immediate trigger, market data suggests the rally is anchored in a significant shift in Seplat’s earnings profile following the full-year consolidation of offshore assets acquired from Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited.
The company’s 2025 audited results show revenue rising by 144.2 percent to $2.73 billion from $1.116 billion in 2024, while profit before tax increased by 86.7 percent to $497.8 million. Production volumes surged by 148 percent to an average of 131,506 barrels of oil equivalent per day, reflecting the first full-year contribution of the acquired offshore operations.
Dividend payouts also rose by 52 percent to 25 US cents per share, reinforcing the company’s shareholder return profile and supporting its re-rating among income-focused investors.
At current levels, Seplat is trading at an estimated price-to-earnings ratio of about 19.8x, significantly above historical averages for Nigerian oil and gas stocks. However, analysts argue that the premium reflects forward earnings expectations rather than speculative excess.
A key factor underpinning this valuation is the company’s reserve expansion. Following the offshore acquisition, Seplat’s proved and probable (2P) reserves increased to over 1.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, with a reserve replacement ratio estimated at 145 percent in 2025. This indicates that the company is adding more resources than it is producing, effectively extending its production runway and supporting long-term cash flow visibility.
Beyond operational performance, Seplat’s valuation is increasingly influenced by its role as a currency hedge within the Nigerian market. With the bulk of its revenues denominated in US dollars and its shares priced in naira, the stock functions as a synthetic dollar asset for domestic investors seeking protection against currency depreciation.
This dynamic has been reinforced by the company’s dual listing, which creates a pricing linkage between its naira-denominated shares and its valuation on international markets. As the naira weakens, Seplat’s local share price adjusts upward to maintain parity, effectively embedding foreign exchange expectations into its valuation.
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
