Seplat finds 157 billion cubic feet of gas and 19 million barrels of oil at Aku-01

Seplat Energy has announced a new oil and gas find at its Aku-01 exploration well, with early internal estimates putting the gas at 157 billion cubic feet and the oil at 19 million barrels in place.

The company disclosed the discovery on Thursday, October 29, in its unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2026. The find came after the reporting period closed.

Seplat said the oil was a surprise. "Encouragingly, an oil discovery was not part of the original well plan," the company stated in the results.

The well sits in Petroleum Prospecting Licence (PPL) 2A25, where Seplat holds a 40% operating interest. According to ThisDay, hydrocarbons were found in five reservoir intervals.

These are early estimates of what is in the ground, not confirmed recoverable volumes. Seplat said more evaluation is needed before it can say how much can be commercially produced.

Why it matters to Nigerians

More gas in the ground matters for power and cooking fuel, and more oil matters for the naira and government revenue. But a discovery only counts once it is developed and sold, which takes years and money.

Seplat said it is completing the well as a possible future production well and plans to connect it to existing infrastructure for early commercial development. It also plans a second exploration well in the Aku area in 2027.

The find has reduced exploration uncertainty across four neighbouring prospects in the licence area, the company said.

On the money side, Seplat reported pre-tax profit of ₦1.34 trillion for the nine months, up 52.75% from ₦878.99 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose to ₦3.78 trillion from ₦3.36 trillion.

ThisDay reported the same results in dollars: revenue of $2.76 billion and profit after tax of $260.2 million, up 174%. Nairametrics put profit after tax at ₦355.6 billion. The two outlets used different currencies for the profit line.

Average working-interest production rose 7% to 144,999 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Output in the third quarter averaged 155,801 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 13% from a year earlier, according to ThisDay.

Seplat declared a third-quarter dividend of 19 US cents per share, made up of a core dividend of 5 cents and a special dividend of 14 cents. That brings dividends declared for the first nine months to 40 US cents per share.

Chief Executive Officer Effiong Okon said the quarter's production puts the company on track to meet the upper half of its full-year guidance. He said the Aku-01 find showed the quality of Nigeria's subsurface and the potential in Seplat's exploration portfolio.

Seplat also said commercial gas sales from the Assa North-Ohaji South (ANOH) project through the OB3 pipeline began on September 1.

What happens next

Seplat will finish evaluating the well and work towards connecting it to infrastructure. A second exploration well in the Aku area is planned for 2027. The company also expects to complete the sale of a 10% interest in its joint venture with NNPC Limited in the fourth quarter, which it says would trigger a dividend payment of about $140 million.