Seplat Energy (LON:SEPL) executives used the company’s full-year 2025 results call to emphasize the “transformational” impact of the Mobil Producing acquisition, which delivered the first full year of combined operations and drove sharp increases across production, revenue, and cash flow.
Chief Executive Officer Roger Brown said the enlarged company now has a significantly expanded resource base, citing combined 2P plus 2C resources of about 2.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) on a working-interest basis. Brown reiterated management’s 2030 plan targets, including reaching more than 200,000 boe/d of production to the joint venture and delivering at least $1 billion of aggregate dividends over the next five years.
Production and operational performance
Chief Operating Officer Samson Ezugworie highlighted several operational initiatives, particularly in the offshore business. He said an Idle Well Restoration Program brought back 49 wells in 2025, delivering about 48,600–49,000 barrels of oil per day in total, which he characterized as consistent with internal forecasts of roughly 1,000 barrels per day per well. The company plans to restore about 50 additional idle wells in 2026, with Ezugworie cautioning that early candidates were “the most juicy and easy to fix wells,” though he said results so far this year have been strong.
Ezugworie also discussed progress on gas and midstream. He said gas production rose 54% year-over-year, supported by improved onshore performance following turnaround maintenance at the Oben Gas Plant in late 2024 and contributions from the Sapele Integrated Gas Plant. He added that Seplat achieved “first gas” at the ANOH gas plant in January and is currently supplying 50–70 million standard cubic feet per day (scf/d) to Indorama, while preparing to ramp up deliveries to Nigeria LNG (NLNG).
On offshore midstream projects, Ezugworie said the Oso-to-BRT Phase One project is expected to double gas supply to NLNG from 120 to 240 million scf/d, with first gas targeted for the third quarter of the current year. A Phase Two project would further increase volumes to 480 million scf/d, with delivery targeted for 2027, he said.
Safety, environment, and asset integrity
Management said safety remained a top priority. Ezugworie reported more than 40 million man-hours of lost-time-injury (LTI)-free operations during the year, alongside one LTI onshore in the third quarter involving a contractor injury at Oben. He said offshore operations were LTI-free.
Seplat also discussed emissions and flaring. Brown said CO2 emissions were down 24% year-over-year and that the company has ended routine flaring on its western onshore assets. He said those efforts contributed to about $9 million in flare-penalty savings during the year, with further reductions expected as the ANOH project ramps to full production.
On asset integrity, Ezugworie noted the Yoho offshore platform suffered a fire in the third quarter of 2025 and has remained out of service. He and Brown said the company is targeting a return to production in the second quarter of the current year, with Ezugworie citing cable manufacturing lead times as the key risk and noting Seplat is working directly with original equipment manufacturers and specialists. Ezugworie said the production uplift from restoring Yoho would be about 20,000 barrels per day.
Financial results and balance sheet
Chief Financial Officer Eleanor Adaralegbe said 2025 results reflected the company’s first full year operating at its expanded scale. Revenue rose 144% year-over-year to $2.7 billion, despite a 12% year-over-year decline in oil prices. She said liquids made up 93% of revenue, with gas contributing 7%.
Adjusted EBITDA was $1.27 billion, representing a 47% margin, and net income was $159 million. Adaralegbe reported operating cash flow of $1.17 billion and said the company’s net debt fell to $673 million, ending the year at 0.5x net debt-to-EBITDA. She also pointed to more than $700 million in available liquidity, including cash on hand, and said Seplat has no debt maturities before 2027.
Adaralegbe noted cost of sales increased, which she attributed to offshore asset integrity work and infrastructure reliability efforts, while general and administrative expenses declined year-over-year. She also said Seplat’s effective tax rate improved to about 68% from roughly 80% previously, citing the impact of Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) conversion on the onshore business. Brown added the company has begun discussions around PIA conversion for offshore assets as well.
Dividend, guidance, and key items for 2026
Seplat declared a full-year dividend of $0.25 per share, including a proposed final dividend of $0.083 per share, according to management. Adaralegbe said the 2025 dividend exceeded the company’s stated minimum of $0.20 per share and reiterated the policy to pay 40%–50% (or at least 40%) of free cash flow as dividends through the 2026–2030 period, which management has estimated at around $1 billion in aggregate dividends over the cycle.
Management provided 2026 guidance and highlighted several operational priorities. Brown said production guidance for 2026 is 135,000–155,000 boe/d, representing a roughly 10% uplift at the midpoint from 2025. Capex guidance is $360 million–$440 million, up from $267 million in 2025, as Seplat funds drilling and gas projects.
- Production guidance: 135,000–155,000 boe/d
- Capex guidance: $360 million–$440 million
- Unit operating cost guidance: $13.5–$14.5 per boe (down from $15.7 in 2025, management said)
- DD&A guidance: $4.5–$5 (as stated on the call)
- Cash tax guidance: $400 million–$450 million, based on a $65 per barrel planning price
During Q&A, executives said they have not provided guidance on 2026 EBITDA. Adaralegbe said management’s longer-term aim is to reduce the effective tax rate toward around 40% over five years, and she described cost-reduction efforts focused on volume growth, synergies, and securing longer-term contracts.
Management also addressed several additional investor questions, including the company’s gas “midstream spin-out” efforts, which Brown described as a structural separation of gas plants into a midstream division within the group rather than a full separation from Seplat. Adaralegbe also discussed a $300 million advance payment facility from ExxonMobil used as part of the acquisition financing, which the company carries as debt payable over the next two years.
Brown closed by saying management is pleased with 2025 performance and focused on executing the 2026 work program, with the next update expected alongside first-quarter results toward the end of April.
About Seplat Energy (LON:SEPL)
Seplat Energy is Nigeria’s leading indigenous, independent oil and gas producer, producing oil and gas production volumes of 48,152 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 9M 2023, including 117 MMscfd (20,083 boepd) of processed natural gas for domestic power generation in 9M 2023.
Seplat Energy is focused on powering Nigeria’s energy transition. Our goal is to help meet the energy needs of Nigeria’s rapidly growing population by providing accessible, reliable and sustainable energy, at the same time increasing shareholder value.
