By Ejekwu Chidiebere
The leader of all the Nigerian independent energy companies – Seplat Energy has restated its commitments to energy sustainability, stressing that its focus is long-term with dividends accruable beyond today.
The Chief Operating Officer of the Company Samson Ezugworie stated this at the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Council 2025 Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum (OLEF) held in Abuja recently.
Ezugworie, who spoke in the Forum’s panel session titled “Driving Energy Sustainability Through Technology, Policy, and Supply Chain Excellence” maintained that business sustainability was about vision and building a future “you may not benefit from”.
He likened sustainability to the human race and many challenges that have confronted it among which is energy poverty in Nigeria, which he also stressed had limited the potential of the country and its people.
Speaking on the Company’s effort at addressing energy poverty in Nigeria, Ezugworie noted that over 850MMscfd of gas installations have been achieved in-country (excluding capacities from the recently acquired MPNU assets).
“Over the years, we have currently installed over 850MMscfd of gas geared towards supplying gas to domestic users in Nigeria. With the recent acquisition of the MPNU assets, we will now begin to explore and exploit other growth options. We are going to go into the mass gas reserves of that asset and still ensure that we use significant part of that to power Nigeria,” the COO said.
Adding that the panel’s theme which revolved around energy sustainability, technology, policy and supply chains was also centred on human beings and the need to build the right capacities aimed at driving development and growth. “Early this month at Seplat Energy, 50 young graduates just resumed for employment and they are undergoing diverse trainings at the moment. For us, this is capacity development; making sure that we have the funnel of talents that will replace us in due course. This is sustainability,” Ezugworie stated.
Highlighting what Seplat Energy had done in the deployment of technology in Nigeria’s gas space, the COO said that the company’s various interventions were quite transformational. Noting that Seplat has implemented its end of routine flaring (EORF) roadmap, which includes investments across our production facilities to minimise Scope 1 & 2 greenhouse gas emissions and improve overall energy efficiency.
“For instance, the first module of Seplat’s Sapele Integrated Gas Plant (SIGP) has commenced operations and is now producing. Once the plant is operating at capacity, expected during 2025, it has the potential to materially reduce the Group Scope 1 emissions.” Other ongoing key flare-out projects include the Western Asset Flares Out (installation of vapour recovery unit compressors), Sapele LPG Storage & Offloading Facility, Oben LPG Project and Ohaji Flares Out Project. “The Company is on track to end routine flaring of gas across its onshore assets in 2H 2025.”
Ezugworie also highlighted the Company’s strong commitment in deliver Corporate Social Investment initiatives in health, education and access to energy sustainably in Nigeria. “Last year, 352 teachers were impacted in the 2024 edition of Seplat Teachers Empowerment Programme (STEP), 6,373 students impacted during the 2024 Pearls Quiz, 4 Science Technology Engineering Arts & Mathematics (STEAM) Labs equipped in 4 secondary schools, 9,780 impacted in the 2024 Eye Can See Programme and, Energy solutions delivered in 6 schools and 3 hospitals completed.