Uche Cecil Izuora
Nigeria’s indigenous oil and gas companies have demonstrated greater resilience mobilizing resources to invest in wider energy value chain, according to African Energy Chamber (AEC).
The transfer of upstream assets from international oil companies (IOCs) to African operators is reshaping the continent’s energy industry, with indigenous companies increasingly moving beyond asset ownership to expand production, mobilize capital and build capabilities across the wider energy value chain.
The Chamber remarked that Nigeria provides one of the clearest examples acquiring more than $6 billion in assets divested by international majors and now account for more than 60 per cent of the country’s crude production, citing figures from Nigerian officials and industry participants in 2026.
The shift is already translating into production growth.
Heirs Energies, which assumed operatorship of OML 17 in 2021, has increased crude production from around 25,000 barrels per day to more than 50,000 bpd, with output reaching 55,000 bpd in August. The company has also secured a $750 million reserve-based lending facility from Afreximbank to support field development and long-term growth.
Oando is another example of the changing ownership landscape. Following its acquisition of Eni’s former Nigerian Agip Oil Company assets, the indigenous energy group reported average production of 42,789 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first half of 2026, up 16 per day year-on-year.
The company is targeting further growth through new drilling and well-intervention programs across its expanded portfolio.
Against this backdrop, African Energy Week (AEW) 2026’s African Independents Roundtable: “Scaling Indigenous Operators Across the Value Chain” will examine how local companies are transforming acquired assets into broader businesses spanning production, processing and refining.
The question now extends beyond who owns the assets to what happens around them. AEW 2026’s Local Content Roundtable: “Aligning Policy, Capacity and Investment for Sustainable Growth” will bring together operators, regulators and local-content companies to examine how domestic procurement, skills and industrial capacity can expand while maintaining an investment environment capable of attracting international capital.
That industrialization push is also reflected in Nigeria’s Nigerian Oil and Gas Park Scheme. The NCDMB’s Emeyal-1 park in Bayelsa State is scheduled to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2026, with manufacturing facilities designed to produce components and other inputs for the oil and gas industry and create employment for more than 2,000 people when fully operational.
AEW’s agenda connects these developments to the wider services ecosystem. The “Africa’s Oil & Gas Services Opportunity” session will examine how African and international service companies can access growth markets and scale across borders, while “Re-energizing Onshore & Brownfield Assets: Production, Recovery & Gas-to-Industry” will focus on the investment and technical requirements of revitalizing mature assets.
The 8th Meeting of the APPO NOC CEOs’ Forum will add another layer, bringing national oil company leaders together to discuss refining, gas and LNG, financing, digitalization, local content and regulatory cooperation.
Meanwhile, AEW’s Deal Room will provide a platform for project sponsors and developers to showcase active oil, gas, energy and infrastructure opportunities to investors.
“Africa’s indigenous companies are no longer simply participating in the energy sector – they are increasingly taking ownership, operating assets and building the capabilities needed to create value at home,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “The next step is to ensure that this growth translates into stronger African supply chains, technical skills, industrial capacity and investment opportunities.”
Taking place in Cape Town from October 12–16, AEW 2026 will bring indigenous operators, governments, international energy companies, financiers and technology providers together around a central issue for Africa’s next investment cycle: how greater domestic participation can translate into higher production, deeper supply chains, technology and skills transfer, and lasting industrial development.