By Ejekwu Chidiebere
Energy Window International (Media) gathered that,
Roger Brown, CEO Seplat Energy Plc said this at the 2025 AEW in Cape Town:
He said: “Seplat Energy Plc has recorded unprecedented growth since it was founded by acquiring divested assets, unlocking value from them, improving efficiency and safety performance of the assets, whilst driving the entire growth process with a world-class and resilient workforce”. Brown was speaking during a “Fireside Chat” titled “Assets Acquisition Success Strategies: Seplat Energy”, where he was reported to have said that, “Seplat has successfully integrated major acquisitions in the last decade, each time improving efficiency and safety performance, while at the same time reducing routine emissions”.
“The goal for acquiring Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited assets was to move quickly to re-engage wells and facilities to enable delivery of immediate results, invest more and early in integrity and reliability, pursue the goal of achieving reduction in downtime while setting a foundation for future growth through the integration of people and systems.
“We found strong cultural alignment with our new colleagues, and that’s been key to seamless performance. We’ve welcomed their expertise and insights and the entire Group is benefiting from them,”Brown said.
“By combining Seplat’s onshore experience with decades of offshore know-how from new colleagues”, Brown continued, “The company has built a stronger operation from day one, which is already delivering higher cash flow.”
Adding he said: “The recent reserves upgrade shows we have acquired a high-quality asset with significant production potential in both oil and gas, and much of this is within easy reach, close to export infrastructure that we control. We are confident we can increase production and that aligns with the Government’s target to increase liquids production to 3.0 MMbbl, and to increase gas production for both domestic energy and export markets.”
About the company’s strong operator mindset, Brown said: “Seplat Energy focuses on acquiring assets where its operating capability can unlock hidden value – especially mature fields that benefit from a more agile, entrepreneurial operator. We’ve already proven we can acquire assets onshore and bring them up to high levels of production, whilst keeping tight control of costs, and this has helped us build up a strong balance sheet, invest in our future and return a healthy dividend stream to investors.”
Brown who also touched on the company’s clear appetite for success said that the focus had never veered off from ensuring that keeping and maintaining safety and operational standards were areas they won’t have compromised – all of which buoys down to meeting the target of maximizing production and cash flows for business consolidation.
Explaining Brown said: “We’re a low-cost operator, meaning we can be profitable at good oil prices and we’ve proven we can survive periods of low prices and prolonged lock-ins. We look after our staff, all of whom are very highly qualified, mostly Nigerian, and ensure they are fully aligned with our success, which in turn will bring success for Nigeria’s energy system. We’ve got a deep bench and a strong succession pipeline.”
Eleanor Adaralegbe, Chief Financial Officer who spoke during a panel discussion titled “Financing Upstream Projects for Domestic Energy Security”, said that Seplat has been recording, from inception, a history of growth around its capital window, raising more than $4bn in debt to develop and grow operations while maintaining a low leverage threshold of below 1.5x through the cycle.
On the various financing options since inception, Adaralegbe identified the Initial Public Offer (IPO), Revolving Credit Facility (RCF), Bonds and Advance Payment Facility or taking over the $110m RBL which also is currently being refinanced (on Eland acquisition of 2019, putting in place also a $320m project financing for ANOH which is “Seplat’s 50/50 JV” with the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company (a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of NNPC) – all in their perspectives for clarification and proper understanding.
Energy Window International (Media) also gathered that Seplat had done to a lot to overcome financing challenges, and so she said: “Corporates are always looking to access low-cost financing for development and growth, more so, Nigerian energy companies, as Nigerian banks have a high USD cost of borrowing. As such, we knew that we had to become a first mover and shape our credit profile to appeal to a wider group of banks and investors. We are the first and only dual listed Nigerian oil and gas company.”
Brown also listed the following to keep the Company’s key credit momentum which includes Balanced Assets with Substantial Production, Portfolio Diversification through Gas Business, Positioning to Capture Future Growth, Strong Financials and Well-Tested Risk Management, Well managed liquidity, Focus on tax efficiencies, Experienced Management and Strong Governance, and Leadership in Indigenous and ESG-Focused Operatorship.
Adaralegbe explained: “Seplat Energy has repeatedly been able to refinance to extend maturities and bring down our cost of debt while keeping leverage moderate. We have been able to do this because we are focused on things that lenders are focused on – asset diversification, steady production, strong financials, low leverage, focus on tax efficiencies, strong leadership.”
On financing the Nigeria’s energy security which she said depends heavily on upstream oil and gas which also fuels both domestic consumption and foreign exchange earnings, declining investment in upstream projects due to global energy transition pressures and perceived risks, with rising domestic demand for gas and power – all this should be a wake-up call to industry stakeholders that all hands should be on deck.
“Until utility-scale renewables, storage, and transmission are materially larger, Nigeria’s ability to keep lights on, vehicles moving, industries running, and households cooking cleanly is fundamentally constrained by upstream oil and gas development, output and associated midstream delivery – that is upstream development is a direct lever on national energy security,” she said.
Adaralegbe said that a stable and predictable fiscal framework was the single most powerful enabler of upstream financing, adding that consistent application of PIA provisions, timely JV cash-call settlements, and clarity on commodity pricing policies were essential elements in de-risking projects and crowd in long-term capital.