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Global and Local Energy Service Providers to Bridge Africa’s Technical Skills Gap at AEW 2026
As Africa enters a new energy investment cycle, building deep technical capability and robust supply chains has become as critical as attracting capital. As such, this year’s African Energy Week (AEW) 2026, taking place from October 12–16 in Cape Town, is set to position this topic at the center of its program agenda, with a robust roster of voices from localized manufacturing, engineering alliances and deepwater technology set to participate.
The speaker lineup includes Samuel Diminas, Group CEO, Westpaq Group; Dr. Tina Unachukwu, Managing Director, One Titanium Tubulars; Ilya Asser, Managing Director, Neuman & Esser; Arthur Ename, Vice President of Business Development for Africa, NOV; and Marien Ibiaho, Area Sales Manager for Europe & Africa, NOV (APL Division). Together, they bring decades of technical and operational experience, helping local markets manage complex upstream oil, gas and green hydrogen ventures.
Westpaq Group advances human capital by leveraging flexible international alliances to deploy global-standard engineering services across sub-Saharan Africa. Operating under a strong framework of local value retention, the group recently launched a state-of-the-art energy industry training facility in Lagos. AEW 2026 gives Diminas the platform to share critical insights into bridging technical local content deficiencies and building structural competitiveness to attract major international investors.
Representing supply chain integration, Dr. Unachukwu joins the conference at a time when regional producers are pushing to unlock massive production targets by 2030. One Titanium Tubulars positions local manufacturing and premium oilfield machine shop services at the core of this push. Having recently upgraded its infrastructure to comply with the API Spec Q1 10th Edition requirements, Dr. Unachukwu will be well-positioned to detail why scaling regional technical capabilities is required to de-risk high-volume upstream projects.
Meanwhile, the green energy transition takes center stage with engineering giant Neuman & Esser. Asser anchors the summit’s clean energy track, focusing on high-capacity compression systems, mechanical grinding and integrated solutions across the green hydrogen value chain. Through deep engineering partnerships across the continent, the company supports sustainable hydrogen transport infrastructure, helping governments and operators transition smoothly to net-zero frameworks.
Global technology powerhouse NOV brings comprehensive infrastructure solutions to the forum. As such, Ename will be positioned to unpack how strategic technology deployment can address regional energy poverty during the infrastructure lifecycle, moving the vendor role to a localized enabler. Concurrently, Ibiaho’s participation also offers a chance to deliver insight on offshore production breakthroughs, detailing how advanced systems can drastically accelerate gas monetization timelines in West Africa.
“Africa’s energy future depends entirely on our ability to execute locally,” says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber. “Building specialized engineering capabilities, upgrading manufacturing shops to international standards and scaling modular offshore tech are vital to securing true resource sovereignty.”
The collective participation of this esteemed group of speakers underscores the vital shift happening within Africa’s energy ecosystem. Their insights are expected to bridge the gap between policy and execution, ensuring African nations don’t just extract resources, but actively engineer, service and sustain their own industrial growth.