Oando Energy Resources (OER), a subsidiary of Oando PLC, Africa’s leading indigenous energy solutions provider, participated in the recently concluded 25th edition of NOG Energy Week, Sub-Saharan Africa's leading energy conference, held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre (BATICC), Abuja.
The Company called for stronger collaboration, increased technology adoption and sustained investment in indigenous capacity as critical enablers of Nigeria's ambition to increase oil production and build a more competitive energy industry. These views were shared by Managing Director, Oando Energy Resources (OER), Dr. Ainojie 'Alex' Irune, and General Manager, Base and District Management, OER, Solomon Ikanade-Agba, during separate high-level panel sessions at the conference.
Speaking during the panel session titled Production Optimisation Strategies: Maximising Investments in the New Energy Landscape, Dr. Irune said Nigeria has the technical capacity to significantly increase production, noting that sustained reforms, stronger collaboration and continued investment across the value chain will be essential to achieving the country's long-term production ambitions.
He highlighted the growing role of indigenous operators in transforming Nigeria's upstream sector, noting that local companies are increasingly driving production growth while building domestic capacity across the energy value chain. "There is at least another million barrels to come from the indigenous players who currently produce approximately 60% of today's production. So, it's our time,” Dr. Irune said.
"It's local companies that started at a thousand barrels a day and and have grown to produce hundreds of thousands of barrels a day. It is these same companies that have built out every part of the value chain to domesticate value creation and keep it within the country. That's the story. That's what will get us to three million barrels," he added.
Reinforcing Dr. Irune's call for stronger collaboration across the industry, fellow panellist, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Shoreline Group, Kola Karim, said achieving Nigeria's production ambitions would require greater cooperation among indigenous operators, strategic partnerships and deliberate efforts to create long-term value across the sector. "For the industry to make the progress we need, we have to look at better cooperation and create the right partnerships that will deliver value. Nigerian companies have shown what is possible when they come together, and I believe there is much more of that to come if we collaborate intentionally and focus on delivering value," he said
While Dr Irune focused on the strategic conditions required to increase production, Ikanade-Agba examined how technology and artificial intelligence can improve the efficiency, resilience and long-term competitiveness of Nigeria's energy industry.
Speaking during the Powering the AI Economy: Optimising Energy Systems panel session, alongside Wole Abu, Managing Director, West Africa, Equinix; Dr. Ayotunde Coker, CEO, Open Access Data Centres; and Eleanor Okubor, Expert Associate Partner, Upstream Petroleum Asset Excellence, McKinsey & Company, with Oladipo Ashafa, Chief Operating Officer, Chappal Energies, serving as moderator, Ikanade-Agba highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in transforming energy operations through production optimisation, predictive maintenance, operational risk management and asset protection.
He emphasised the practical applications of artificial intelligence across the energy value chain, noting that the technology is already improving operational efficiency, enhancing asset integrity and supporting safer decision-making across upstream operations. “AI is already helping optimise production, analysing underperforming wells, forecasting production decline, strengthening preventive maintenance, improving operational risk management and proactively protecting critical assets. AI is not here to replace people. It's here to help us deliver safer, higher-quality solutions," Ikanade-Agba said.
He noted that realising AI's full potential requires organisations to address challenges such as fragmented data, legacy systems, connectivity gaps and workforce adoption, while embedding AI into operational workflows and strengthening digital capabilities. "The organisations that will realise the greatest value from AI are those that integrate it into the way they operate every day, rather than treating it as another technology project," he said.
Oando's participation at NOG Energy Week 2026 reflects the Company's commitment to advancing Nigeria's energy industry through indigenous capability, technology-led innovation and strategic collaboration, while contributing practical insights that support sustainable production growth and long-term value creation.
