Floating infrastructure has become the fastest route to market for African offshore resources. Yinson Production, which operates a fleet of 10 floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels backed by a $22 billion orderbook through 2048, brought the Agogo FPSO onstream offshore Angola in July 2025, four months ahead of schedule. In March 2026 it became the world’s first offshore facility to operate a post-combustion carbon capture system.

The company also opened a Windhoek office in January 2026 as it prepares for Namibia’s emerging deepwater market. Paal Gunnar Heistad, SVP, Business Development, and Francesco Leuzzi, Country Manager for Namibia and Africa Business Development, will speak at AEW 2026.

Floating LNG (FLNG) has delivered similar results on the export side. Golar LNG’s Gimi vessel reached commercial operations in June 2025 at the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project offshore Mauritania and Senegal, establishing both countries as LNG exporters, while the company’s FLNG Hilli has operated offshore Cameroon since 2018. CEO Karl Fredrik Staubo joins AEW 2026 as the company advances plans to order a fourth FLNG unit in 2026.

“FLNG has shortened the path from discovery to cargo, and projects like GTA prove African gas can compete in global markets. The next step is matching our export success with domestic success. I would like to see gas-to-industry investment that turns molecules into manufacturing jobs,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.

That domestic agenda is building in Nigeria, where independent producers are turning associated gas into a viable product. Green Energy International (GEIL), operator of the Otakikpo field in Rivers State, runs 20 million standard cubic feet per day of gas handling capacity alongside a modular liquefied petroleum gas extraction plant designed to eliminate flaring.

The company’s ambition is to build localized domestic gas markets from small-scale opportunities. Anthony O. Adegbulugbe, Chairman, joins AEW 2026 following GEIL’s completion of the $400 million Otakikpo onshore export terminal in 2025.

Taking place October 12-16 in Cape Town, AEW 2026 will connect these gas solutions providers with the investors, operators and policymakers shaping the next wave of projects, from frontier deepwater developments in Namibia to industrial gas hubs in the Niger Delta.

Oando PLC Group Chief Executive Wale Tinubu will attend alongside Dr. Alex Irune, Executive Director of Oando PLC and Managing Director of Oando Energy Resources. Oando completed its acquisition of Eni’s former NAOC onshore assets in a deal valued at approximately $800 million, adding acreage across the Niger Delta and establishing Oando as one of the largest indigenous operators in Nigeria by production volume.

Seplat Energy, Nigeria’s largest independent producer, will be represented by incoming CEO Engr. Effiong Okon, who takes over from Roger Brown on August 1, 2026. Seplat’s 2030 strategy targets 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and more than one billion standard cubic feet per day of domestic gas production following its acquisition of ExxonMobil’s Nigerian subsidiary.

The ANOH gas processing plant, which Okon helped deliver as Managing Director, achieved first gas in January 2026. Okechukwu Mba, Director of Gas and New Energy, will also participate, contributing to discussions on gas commercialization and the country’s energy transition strategy.

Aradel Holdings, the largest oil and gas company listed on the Nigerian Exchange, will be represented by Adegbite Falade, MD and CEO. Aradel reported revenue of approximately N697.3 billion and 55% profit growth year-on-year for 2025, driven by increased crude and gas production across an expanding asset base. The company raised crude output to 14,100 barrels per day and achieved its highest-ever gas production rate of approximately 83.8 million standard cubic feet per day during the year.

Aradel is also a shareholder in Renaissance Africa Energy, the consortium that completed its $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell’s onshore Nigerian operations. The company operates a fully integrated upstream-to-downstream model at its flagship Ogbele field in Rivers State, combining production, gas processing and refining.

Heirs Energies MD and CEO Osayande Igiehon will attend the conference as the company continues to expand its upstream position and financing capacity. A recent flagship agreement included Heirs Energies’ $750 million dual-tranche reserve-based lending facility – arranged by the African Export-Import Bank. The company operates OML 17 in the Niger Delta, supplying gas that powers more than 350 MW of electricity, and its parent company Heirs Holdings holds a 20.07% stake in Seplat Energy following a $500 million investment.

Shoreline Energy International Group Managing Director and CEO Kola Karim will also join the conference. The company specialized in power, infrastructure, engineering and energy investments, with operations including OML 30 in the Niger Delta. The project has eight producing flow stations and five gas lift compression stations.

Collectively, these operators represent the companies that have reshaped Nigeria’s upstream ownership structure and are now working to scale production, integrate acquired assets and deploy capital into the infrastructure required to sustain long-term growth.

“Nigeria’s indigenous operators have acquired billions of dollars in assets and are now running them, financing them and expanding them. Their presence at AEW in force demonstrates that this is not a transition in name only but a fundamental shift in how Africa’s largest oil producer operates,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.

AEW 2026 will convene the Nigerian delegation alongside heads of state, international operators and investors at the Cape Town International Convention Center from October 12-16.

Having assumed leadership of ExxonMobil Angola in late 2025, Unietis now oversees a portfolio entering a period of rapid execution. Under his leadership, ExxonMobil has shifted from primarily managing mature offshore assets toward delivering new production, extending field life and opening entirely new exploration provinces designed to support Angola’s ambition of sustaining crude output above one million barrels per day (bpd).

One of the company’s most significant recent milestones came in April 2026 when ExxonMobil awarded a major EPCI contract to Subsea7 for the Likembe Redevelopment 2.0 Project. The redevelopment will connect additional reservoirs back to existing Block 15 facilities through subsea tiebacks, illustrating the company’s increasing focus on infrastructure-led developments that shorten timelines while improving capital efficiency.

Alongside redevelopment activity, ExxonMobil continues to expand beyond its established producing assets. Earlier this year, the company partnered with TotalEnergies and Angola’s National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels to secure exploration rights across multiple blocks in the Benguela and Namibe Basins, two frontier regions expected to underpin Angola’s next generation of offshore discoveries. Geological evaluation also continues following ExxonMobil’s first exploration drilling campaign in the Namibe Basin, while additional subsurface assessments are underway across the Free Areas of Blocks 17/06 and 32/21.

The operational momentum follows a series of major strategic decisions taken shortly after Unietis assumed leadership. ExxonMobil and its Block 15 partners reached a final investment decision last year to extend production from the Mondo and Saxi-Batuque fields. The investment followed the extension of Block 15’s production license through 2037, providing the fiscal certainty needed to unlock further redevelopment opportunities across one of Angola’s most productive offshore assets.

Beyond upstream developments, ExxonMobil continues investing across the wider offshore value chain. The company recently secured a long-term charter agreement with Bourbon Mobility for a new fleet of fuel-efficient crew transfer vessels scheduled to enter service in 2027, while specialized management programs are being deployed to safely manage naturally occurring radioactive material generated from mature offshore operations.

These initiatives form part of ExxonMobil’s broader investment program, centered on maximizing production from existing infrastructure while opening new offshore basins capable of sustaining the country’s production base well into the next decade.

As Angola advances policies designed to attract fresh upstream capital and accelerate offshore development, AOG 2026 – taking place in Luanda from September 9‒10, with a pre-conference day on September 8 – will provide a key forum for government leaders, operators and investors to discuss the sector’s next phase of growth.

Unietis’ participation underscores ExxonMobil’s long-term commitment to Angola and positions the company at the forefront of the country’s strategy to combine mature asset redevelopment, frontier exploration and sustained investment to secure its future as one of Africa’s premier oil producers.  ​