Seplat Energy targeting 500,000bpd production — CEO

…pays over $835m dividends to investors

Nigeria’a Seplat Energy has revealed that it is executing an aggressive growth strategy, targeting a 500,000-barrel-per-day production capacity.

Engr. Effiong Okon, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Seplat Energy, unveiled these target during a plenary session at Africa Oil Week 2026 in Accra, Ghana.

The high-level session, moderated by Gavin Thompson, Vice Chairman for Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Wood Mackenzie, also featured Mario Bello, Executive Vice President and Head of the Sub-Saharan Africa Region at Eni.

Addressing a gathering of global investors, executives, and policymakers, Okon highlighted the company’s clear ambition to become Nigeria’s premier independent, integrated energy producer.

He described Seplat’s trajectory as an extraordinary story of resilience and discipline within a demanding operating environment.

Okon noted that after borrowing $530 million during its early expansion phase, the dual-listed firm has returned over $835 million in cumulative dividends to investors.

Recall that the company’s market capitalization reached $3.93 billion in late August 2026, marking a 170% year-on-year surge across its listings on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

He further revealed that the company aims to pay $1billion in dividends to shareholders within five years noting that Seplat is working to triple its attributable production volume while scaling joint venture operations toward the half-million-barrel daily threshold.

Okon emphasized that strict capital allocation, sound balance sheet management, and rigorous corporate governance will continue to steer the company’s expansion plans.

To sustain this upward momentum, he further revealed that the company is restoring asset integrity across its upstream infrastructure and preparing to launch extensive new seismic acquisition campaigns.

This exploration push is designed to uncover additional crude reserves and accelerate the commercialization of roughly 12 trillion cubic feet of natural gas situated within the company’s shallow-water assets.

Okon reaffirmed Seplat’s pioneering role in domestic gas monetization, noting that expanding natural gas and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) output remains essential for displacing traditional biomass, lowering domestic carbon intensity, and driving industrial power generation across Nigeria.