Africa’s path to shared prosperity lies in the development of a robust domestic gas market — from powering homes and industries to providing cleaner alternatives for cooking and transportation.
Seplat Energy Plc, a leading Nigerian independent energy company reaffirmed this conviction recently at the 2025 Africa Energy Week (AEW) in Cape Town.
The energy company’s continued investment in gas processing infrastructure dedicated to the domestic market, including the landmark ANOH Gas Processing Plant, expected to come onstream before the end of the year.
Speaking at the 2025 Africa Energy Week (AEW) in Cape Town, the company’s Director, New Energy, Mr. Okechukwu Mba, stressed that domestic gas is central to sustainable economic growth. Participating in a panel session titled “Beyond Exports: Developing Commercially Viable Domestic Gas Markets,” Mba emphasized the need to address challenges along Nigeria’s gas-to-power value chain — from molecules at the wellhead to electrons in homes — to ensure reliable electricity supply for Nigerians.
“Bankable anchor customers are critical to the development of new gas projects,” Mba said. “We must also address infrastructure bottlenecks in power transmission and distribution, as well as the liquidity challenges in the power sector, to unlock new gas opportunities.”
He noted that Seplat Energy currently supplies gas to five power stations across Nigeria, underscoring the company’s commitment to powering the nation. “Gas remains the most reliable and affordable baseload energy source to drive economic growth,” he added.
Mba explained that Seplat’s approach to expanding the domestic gas market is holistic — combining investments in pipeline gas projects with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) developments.
In addition to significant volumes of butane already supplied to the domestic market from its NGL plant at the Bonny River Terminal, Seplat is set to commence LPG deliveries from its Sapele and ANOH gas plants before year-end. According to Mba, this will position Seplat Energy as one of Nigeria’s leading LPG suppliers — helping to displace biomass, promote cleaner cooking fuels, and improve public health.
He added that Seplat’s investments in CNG will enable access to natural gas for customers not currently connected to the pipeline network. The company also plans to raise its operated gas production to over 1 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by 2030, aided by recent government incentives to the gas sector.
In a related session, Mrs. Chioma Afe, Seplat Energy’s Director, External Affairs & Social Performance, joined a panel discussion titled “Bureaucracy or Bridge? Tailoring Global ESG Approaches for African Realities.”
She emphasized that Seplat’s efforts to expand access to reliable and affordable energy are firmly anchored on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles adapted to Africa’s unique context.
“To achieve truly impactful ESG implementation, we must move beyond a ‘one-size-fits-all’ mindset to a co-created framework that reflects African realities,” Afe said. “This means developing sustainable models that drive value creation and empower nations to define their growth paths.”
She added that customizing global ESG frameworks to address Africa’s socio-economic challenges — such as infrastructure, education, healthcare, and climate vulnerabilities — is essential to making ESG a bridge for development rather than a bureaucratic obligation.
“At Seplat Energy, we continuously identify development gaps in our host communities and collaborate with them to design and deliver impactful projects,” she noted.
