SAIPEC: Solewant Group Rallies African Countries on Impactful Capacity Building, Oil and Gas Policies

Suleiman Adeola

With renewed optimism for Africa’s energy future, the global leaders, regulators, operators, financiers, and indigenous service providers convened in Lagos recently for the 10th edition of the Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC).

As a Gold Sponsor and keynote contributor, Solewant Group emerged as a defining voice of the conference, championing local content development as the foundation for Africa’s energy security, economic resilience, and industrial transformation.

Solewant Group held high-level bilateral meetings signaling emerging continental partnerships.

The company’s engagement with Ambassador Walde Natangwe Ndevashiya of Namibia focused on collaboration with the Namibian Training Authority and reducing capital flight through indigenous capacity building.

Solewant Group also held discussions with Dr. Atika Karim of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) to explore potential plant establishment and cooperation in Morocco’s gas sector expansion.

The strategic engagement between Solewant Group and the Director General of the Petroleum Commission of The Gambia, Mrs. Cany Jobe opened pathways for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Solewant’s training subsidiary.

The company also held fruitful discussions with Mr. Jimmy Mugerwa of Uganda on training collaboration in technical areas of the energy sector in preparing the Ugandan workforce towards oil and gas exploration.

SAIPEC 2026 side meetings of Solewant Group’s convened Africa Energy Innovative Funding Network- (AEIFN), which is a strategic platform to onboard energy sector-focused businesses intending to leverage different innovative funding facilities for cross-border, continental trade investments across Africa. In attendance was its Network Chair, Engr. Elizabeth Rogo of Kenya; Ambassador Oma Djebah and Dr. Ben Ubleble.

A major highlight was the positioning of the Solewant Energy Training Institute (SETI) as a regional capability platform designed to close Africa’s technical skills gap in pipeline engineering, risk management, construction management, advanced coating technologies, and energy-sector certifications.

SETI’s mandate extends to research and industry convening through the biannual Solewant Journal of Energy Innovation and the Solewant Group Africa Energy Summit, whose 10th edition in November 2026 will focus on scaling innovation, financing, and industrial capacity for Africa’s energy security and sustainable growth.

In his strong presentation at SAIPEC 2026, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Solewant Group, Mr. Solomon Ewanehi, rallied African countries on enforcement of policies and regulations in the oil and gas industry, stressing that policies work best when targets are backed by enforcement and financing.

Ewanehi argued that what African countries needed was to move from policy to impact, adding that from the continent’s experience, a few high-impact moves could accelerate local content outcomes.

He suggested that local content should be treated as an industrial policy programme with capability milestones, and not only contract allocation targets.

Ewanehi also urged African countries to build certification ecosystems through standardised training, credible assessments, and recognised credentials that make African skills exportable.

He recommended the creation of supplier development and financing pathways so that indigenous firms can scale equipment, quality systems, and delivery capacity.

According to him, countries should also digitise compliance and performance measurement by creating dashboards that track outcomes—jobs, spend, skills, technology transfer, and value retained.

Local content, he said, should also be embedded into new energy value chains—gas monetisation, industrial power, hydrogen energy security and national competitiveness. “That is the nation-building dividend of local content: jobs, industrial depth, safety and reliability, innovation, and long-term sovereignty over critical infrastructure,” he added.

Ewanehi declared that across Africa, local content policies have matured.

“Many countries now require local content plans, training commitments, and supplier development pathways. Nigeria’s local content framework demonstrated strong legislation and empowered implementing institutions on giant strides that can be achieved- driving participation, in-country fabrication and services growth,” he explained.

“Ghana’s local content regulations for instance has strengthened participation and expanded the scope of opportunities for indigenous firms, while tightening requirements over time. Angola’s reforms broadened local content rules to cover goods and services across the oil sector- pushing for deeper national participation. “From Uganda to Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Namibia and others, we see the same truth: policies work best when targets are backed by enforcement, financing and skills pipelines,” Ewanehi added.

The CEO of Solewant Group identified the challenges facing local content to include: skills gaps that delay projects and reduce quality, limited access to finance for local suppliers, procurement practices that are not transparent or do not favour capability building, weak data systems to measure compliance and impact, fragmentation- where training, regulation, and industrial policy operate in silos.

According to him, local content succeeds when policy becomes practice, and practice becomes measurable impact.

He explained that his company’s story is a story of 25 years of indigenous capacity.

“This industrial footprint is the result of sustained capacity-building: building competence, building standards, and building trust. We have been recognised for this journey with awards including Champion of Local Content and other national and international recognitions. But beyond awards, the true measure is capability: the ability to deliver at standard, to employ and develop Nigerians, and to keep value in-country,” Ewanehi added.

He noted that his company had in 2025 unveiled its Strategic Roadmap Plus—a 10-year vision for 2025–2035. “It rests on four pillars: People, Plants, Products, and Solutions. It is our commitment to deepen industrial leadership, expand manufacturing footprint, leverage innovation, and support Africa’s broader energy transition. Roadmap Plus is our promise to scale indigenous capacity with discipline—so our story becomes a platform for wider African progress,” he explained.

He further highlighted that if Africa is serious about building nations, then Africa must become serious about building technical capability at scale.

“And this is where the Solewant Energy Training Institute (SETI) becomes central to the Solewant story. SETI was conceived as a practical capacity engine—built to close the skills gap that slows projects, weakens compliance, increases costs, and limits local participation. Because local content cannot rise beyond the competence of the workforce and the maturity of the supply chain,” he explained.

As part of its capacity-building efforts, Ewanehi stated that SETI provides industry-facing professional training and certification programmes across technical, supervisory, and management levels.

At SAIPEC 2026, Solewant Group, one of Nigeria’s most inspiring industrial success stories, exhibited its innovative technological solutions at Booth No. B40. The company has evolved over the last 25 years from a modest pipeline coating service provider into a fully integrated energy-services conglomerate.

It provides services in the areas of manufacturing of steel pipes, coating products, multi- layer coating application solutions and provision of coated pipes to oil, gas and water industries.

One of the subsidiaries – Solewant Nigeria Limited (SNL) – is a leading giant in 3LPE, 3LPP, 5LPP, single- and double-layer bonded epoxy, anti-corrosion and concrete weight coating systems on pipes/bends, with pipe storage and preservation services.

Another subsidiary, Field Joint Coating Limited (FJCL), is a world-class service provider of excellent supply and application of heat shrink sleeves, Kema module sealers, Solvent -free polyurethane, Solvent-free epoxy on girth welds and fusion bond epoxy coating on girth welds.

Solewant Specialty Protective Coatings & Paints Limited (SSPC) is a provider of multi-layer, fusion bond epoxy, 100 per cent solid epoxies, internal efficiency and corrosion, flame spray, and PTFE(XYLAN) coating application services.

The fourth subsidiary, Pipe & Metals Industries Limited (PMI), is a leader in providing of pipe/metals technologies and coating solutions, engineering services – feasibility studies through planning and designs to supervision, fabrication, installation, commissioning and facility management – pipeline repairs, mechanical designs, and cathodic protection systems.

It is also an expert in the construction of pipeline and flowline, steel structures, production facilities and installation/upgrade/commissioning of crude oil, water and gas process facilities.

The fifth subsidiary, SETI, is a citadel of knowledge loaded with life transforming courses – pipeline engineering programmes, pipeline – risk management, construction management, installation, rehabilitation and repairs.

Solewant Group leveraged SAIPEC 2026 to showcase its diversified portfolio from these subsidiaries: Solewant Nigeria Limited (SNL) – Africa’s largest multi-layer pipe coating plant, delivering 3LPE, 3LPP, 5LPP, FBE, and Concrete Weight Coating solutions; Field Joint Coatings Ltd. (FJCL) – Onshore and offshore field joint coating and rehabilitation services; and SSPC – Specialty protective paints and coatings.

Others include: Pipes & Metals Industries Ltd. (PMI) – Steel pipe and metal fabrication; and SETI – Industry-focused energy training and certification.

The company also showcased Engineering design, Pipe manufacturing and provision of steel pipes, 3-Layer polyethylene pipe coating services, Concrete weight coating solution, Steel pipe/metals fabrication and specialty coating solutions, Field Joint Coating Solutions, Cathodic Protection Solution and Manpower training services.

For operators, contractors, producers, and service providers, SAIPEC 2026 reinforced the point that sustainable growth in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector depends on collaboration, competence, and a shared commitment to retaining maximum value in-country.

. Suleiman, an oil and gas analyst, writes from Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.