At NUPRC’s London Roadshow, Solewant Group, Others Preach Collaboration, Transparency for Africa’s Energy Growth
Olusola Adeoye
Global oil and gas industry players, including the Managing Director of TotalEnergies Nigeria, Mattieu Bouyer; Managing Director of ExxonMobil Nigeria, Jagir Baxi; the Commission Chief Executive (CCE) of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, and and the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Solewant Group, Mr. Solomon Ewanehi; were in the United Kingdom for the just-concluded NUPRC’s Roadshow held in Dorchester, London.
Other industry leaders who showed strong presence at the event include: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Seplat, Mr. Roger Brown; Chairman of AA Holdings, Austin Avuru; Chairman of Governing Board of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mr. Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, and federal lawmakers.
At the event, the GCEO of Solewant Group, Ewanehi listed transparency, innovation, collaboration, and emerging technologies as key drivers necessary for the growth of Africa’s energy sector.
Tagged: “Project 1MMBOPD’ Additional Production Investment Forum”, the two-day event was aimed at accelerating Nigeria’s goal of producing an additional 1 million barrels of crude oil per day (bpd) through innovation and collaboration.
According to NUPRC, the project aimed at achieving additional 1 million barrels per day will open a multi-year window for drilling, logistics and technology services.
NUPRC listed other gains to include: early project visibility- understanding capital expenditure (capex), direct access to decision makers, compliance pathways and partnership models for local content, direct feedback from the regulators, IOCs and asset financiers, as well as consortia formation – partnering with complementary firms for integrated service offerings.
Sharing insights on the roadshow in an interview on ARISE News Channel, Ewanehi identified key highlights to include: New upstream investment opportunities; ESG-driven, local content–focused projects, and $7 billion co-investment opportunities in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Ewanehi noted that the engagement was informative, educative, and inspiring, reflecting Solewant Group’s continuous drive to promote innovation, transparency, collaboration, and growth in Africa’s energy sector.
“The energy in the room was very massive and energy experts were talking about how to deepen our operations. “All that we were talking about was how to increase our crude oil production by one million barrels per day. “Currently, you are aware that we are now at the threshold of 1.7 and 1.8 million barrels per day,” Ewanehi explained.
Speaking about transparency, he said there was a strong commitment of the industry leaders to transparency.
“We need to be transparent in what we are doing. Investors across the globe were there at Dorchester in London. We had discussed this issue of transparency.
“We need to be transparent. Data is key – of course you know that data is key to our energy business. The second thing we were looking at during the roadshow was the momentum. If you look at how events have been unfolding, this is the third of its kind here in London. And we had similar road shows in the United States and in Nigeria. And we have the information from the CCE of NUPRC, that the President of Nigeria has given the approval for more of the assets to be offered in a licensing round in December,” Ewanehi added.
The GCEO of Solewant Group also disclosed that international investors at the event sought and were given assurances by the federal lawmakers and regulators on availability of robust legal framework to give investors comfort and protect their investments.
“We were looking at the regulatory framework– we had to look at the framework. With the strong regulatory framework, investors will be interested in coming into the industry,” he added.
Earlier at the roadshow, the CCE of NUPRC, Komolafe had announced the commencement of the 2025 licensing round from December 1, 2025.
Komolafe said the announcement was in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) following the approval of President Tinubu who doubles as the Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria.
He said: “We are announcing that we are ready, following the approval of the Minister of Petroleum Resources in line with the Petroleum Industry Act, to commence the 2025 licensing round beginning from December 1, 2025.”
The NUPRC chief said funding remained the biggest challenge in Nigeria’s upstream sector, adding that the commission as a business enabler, planned to tackle this by connecting interested parties.
He therefore stated that the event was put together to connect all stakeholders in order to make the additional one million barrels a reality.
“One of the factors that affected business is that activities were happening in silos but the NUPRC now realises the need to bring everyone together. We want you all to network. Bank of America is here as well as representatives of other banks,” he said.
Komolafe said the reforms initiated by the Tinubu-led administration had improved Nigeria’s economic metrics. He said crude oil production now averages 1.71 million barrels per day with a peak daily output of 1.83 million bpd, evidence of tangible progress.
The CCE said 46 Field Development Plans (FDPs) had been approved from January 2025 till date, representing immediate investment commitments and production growth potential, noting that the rig count had grown to over 60 out of which at least 40 are active. He therefore stated that this was the best time for existing investors to deepen their stake in Nigeria.
He added: “The drive to reach and sustain 1 million barrels per day in incremental capacity and beyond will require Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units for cluster developments; Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessels for crude evacuation and storage; and a variety of Modular Offshore Production Units and Early Production Facilities to enable early production and accelerated monetisation. All these need investments and the prospects are here in Nigeria.”
Also speaking, the Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Alhassan Doguwa, promised investors that his committee would not push any legislation that would undermine investments, adding that the PIA of 2021 would not be tampered with arbitrarily.
“The House of Representatives reaffirms its commitment to the PIA and will resist any arbitrary changes that will undermine investments,” he said.
Similarly, his counterpart in the Senate, Senator Eteng Williams, also restated the commitment of Nigeria’s legislature to business-friendly laws and urged investors not to fret.
In his remarks, the Chairman of Governing Board, OPEC, Adeyemi-Bero, said the petroleum industry remains critical to Tinubu’s plan to transform Nigeria to a $1 trillion economy, and called on investors to key into the opportunity provided by the Project 1 million Barrels Per Day Forum.
Meanwhile, in demonstration of its commitment to technological innovations in the African oil and gas industry, Solewant Group will focus on transformative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, automation, data analytics, and other digital innovations in this year’s annual energy summit, convened by Solewant Energy Training Institute (SETI).
Solewant Group has not only sustained leadership in pipeline coating, fabrication, and asset integrity management across Nigeria- it continues to pioneer new frontiers in industrial and energy infrastructure development.
Its industrial park at Alode-Onne now includes one of Africa’s most advanced multi-layer pipe coating plants, a dedicated pipe bend multi-layer coating plant (commissioned in mid-2025) developed in partnership with Euro-American OEMs, and full steel pipe milling capabilities.
The annual summit attracts policymakers, energy executives, DFIs, development partners, and researchers from across Africa and the rest of the world, who brainstorm on strategies for building a sustainable and technologically advanced energy future for Africa continent.
This year’s summit, the 9th in the series, is scheduled to take place from November 27–28, 2025, at the Solewant Industrial Park, Alode-Onne, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Nigeria from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily.
Themed “Emerging Technologies and the Future of Sustainable Energy Development in Africa,” the 2025 summit seeks to spotlight how transformative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, automation, data analytics, and other digital innovations are redefining the frontiers of Africa’s energy transition.
Key highlights of the summit include: Key paper presentations from industry leaders and government representatives; strategic panel discussions on technology and energy integration; technical presentations and emerging research and keynote messages from NNPC, IOCs, and EPC companies.
Other key highlights include: exhibitions of intelligent energy solutions; case studies from Across Africa and beyond; capacity-building workshops and networking opportunities.
The summit will facilitate new partnerships and funding pledges between governments, investors, and private sector players- unlocking capital for energy infrastructure, manufacturing, renewable projects, and technology-driven ventures across Africa.
There will also be a launch of the “Africa Energy Innovation Network (AEIN)”
The summit will also strengthen Local Content and Capacity Development Frameworks.
Through policy dialogues and technical sessions, the summit will produce actionable recommendations to deepen local participation, enhance industrial skills, and strengthen indigenous technology deployment in the oil, gas, and renewable sectors.
Outstanding organisations and individuals contributing to Africa’s industrial and energy advancement will be celebrated, inspiring excellence, innovation, and leadership across the sector.
.Adeoye writes from Lagos
