Foremeost indigenous energy company, Seplat Energy Plc, says Nigeria needs sustainable and secure energy that is shared by all to boost its fortunes and reshape the future.
The Chief Operating Officer, Seplat Energy Plc, Mr. Samson Ezugworie, said this at the ongoing 2025 Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) happening in Lagos.
Themed ‘Building a Sustainable Energy Future: Leveraging Technology, Supply Chain, Human Resources, and Policy’, the conference brought together industry regulators, upstream/midstream/downstream operators, financiers, oil/gas interest groups, the media, and industry observers, amongst others. Ezugworie, who represented Seplat Energy’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Roger Brown, spoke on the conference theme.
“We are living through a time of profound transition — a global shift away from fossil fuels, toward cleaner, more inclusive energy systems. For Nigeria, this is not just a climate imperative. It is an economic one. An opportunity to reshape our future with energy that is sustainable, secure, and shared by all,” the Seplat Energy COO said.
He told conference participants that current discussions were not only about energy systems, but also the very foundations of economic opportunity, human wellbeing, and climate resilience in Nigeria.
Identifying majority of Nigerians as lacking access to reliable electricity, with millions relying on polluting fuels for cooking and transportation, Ezugworie said the situation was very worrisome considering the country’s natural resource endowment, talents, and entrepreneurial spirit.
He said: “Nigeria stands at a pivotal moment – caught between the urgent need to meet growing domestic energy demand and the equally pressing global call for a low-carbon future.
“If we are to build a truly sustainable energy system, we must treat it not as a single problem, but as a system-wide transformation. Technology gives us the tools to imagine and implement new energy models — from off-grid solar to smart grids, from clean cooking to digital monitoring. But it must be accessible, scalable, and locally adapted.”
The Seplat Energy COO described supply chains as the invisible threads that connect ideas to impact, adding that from gas pipelines to solar panels, to the logistics that get energy where it’s needed most — the nation must build resilient, transparent supply networks that serve the whole country.
“Human resources — our people — are Nigeria’s greatest energy asset. If we fail to train, empower and include our engineers, our entrepreneurs, our communities — we will fall short of our ambitions. In the area of policy, no transformation succeeds without the enabling framework — one that is bold, consistent, and forward-looking. We need policies that unlock investment, reward innovation, and put people at the centre of the energy system,” he added.
Ezugworie stressed: “We are not starting from scratch. There is momentum. There are technologies already being deployed, communities being electrified, and new industries emerging. But progress remains uneven, and too many are still left behind.
“This conference is an opportunity to align — across public and private sectors, across regions and disciplines — and to ask some hard but necessary questions: How do we ensure that our energy transition is not only green, but just? How do we create access that is affordable, reliable, and inclusive? How do we design systems that work for rural villages and urban centres, for industry and households alike?”
He, therefore, called for a clearer sense of direction, and a stronger commitment to collaboration as stakeholders journey toward a sustainable, equitable energy future for Nigeria.
The 2025 edition of SPE NAICE provided an expansive platform for knowledge-sharing, technical collaboration, and strategic foresight. It featured two high-level leadership panel sessions, over 80 exhibiting companies, and multiple tracks focused on gas monetization, pipeline reliability, infrastructure optimization, and digital transformation. Special attention was given to national priorities like asset divestment, local capacity development, and environmental stewardship.
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