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Across Africa, as international majors continue to divest mature onshore acreage and concentrate capital on large offshore developments, indigenous and independent companies are acquiring producing assets, redeveloping marginal fields and, in some cases, advancing exploration into frontier basins that remain largely untapped. That shift will be reflected at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026, where the continent’s leading independent operators are confirmed to participate.

The clearest evidence of this transition is emerging at the top of the market. Seplat Energy completed its $1.28 billion acquisition of ExxonMobil’s Nigerian subsidiary in 2024, a transaction that significantly expanded its production base and cemented its position as Nigeria’s largest independent producer. Group output reached approximately 131,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025, with the company targeting up to $3 billion in investments through 2030 to support further growth. This includes capital allocation toward projects such as the ANOH gas processing plant, which achieved first gas in January, as well as the Yoho field expansion. At AEW 2026, Okechukwu Mba, Director of Gas and New Energy, and Chioma Afe, Director of External Affairs, will represent the company as it pursues production growth toward 200,000 barrels per day alongside an expanded gas portfolio.

Further down the production curve, long-established indigenous operators continue to underpin output from mature and marginal assets. SunTrust Atlantic Energies, formerly SunTrust Oil, has maintained involvement in the Umusadege field in Oil Mining Lease 56 since the early 2000s, with production operations ongoing in partnership since 2008. Rachel Akhuetie, Executive Director overseeing finance and commercial strategy, is among the AEW 2026 speakers representing the company.

A newer wave of entrants is following a similar trajectory through Nigeria’s marginal field framework. Emadeb Energy Group, which transitioned from downstream fuel distribution into upstream production, achieved first oil in November 2025 at the Ibom field offshore Akwa Ibom. The field, awarded in the 2020 marginal field bid round, required over $100 million in development investment, with a second phase expected to significantly increase output by late 2026. Chief Operating Officer Sheriff Adeeyo will speak at AEW 2026 as the company expands its production footprint.

“The independents are doing what the majors increasingly will not – deploying capital and technical expertise into marginal fields and frontier acreage and converting them into producing barrels,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “That risk appetite is what sustains production growth and ensures more value remains within Africa.”

Beyond producing assets, some independents are extending their ambitions into exploration. Lekoil, operator of the Otakikpo marginal field in the Niger Delta, is advancing plans to appraise offshore block OPL 310 near Lagos, which contains the Ogo discovery – one of West Africa’s largest finds in the past decade. Company Secretary and General Manager for Legal, Gloria Iroegbunam, will represent the company at AEW 2026 as it prepares for potential drilling on the block.

At the frontier end of the spectrum, independents are also testing underexplored basins. Apus Energy, a Dubai-based independent, drilled the Atum-1X well on Block 2 offshore Guinea-Bissau in 2024 – the country’s first offshore well in 17 years and its first deepwater well ever drilled. The campaign tested a prospect estimated to hold up to 300 million barrels of potential resources in the MSGBC basin. CEO Eyas Alhomouz will speak at AEW 2026 as the company evaluates its next phase in the region.

Taking place in Cape Town from October 12–16, AEW 2026 will convene these independent operators alongside financiers, regulators and major producers shaping Africa’s next phase of upstream development – spanning mature fields, marginal assets and frontier exploration plays.