2025: Policymakers, Financiers, Development Partners, Researchers Gather for Solewant Group’s Africa Energy Summit

Olusola Adeoye

Transformative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, automation, data analytics, and other digital innovations will take the centerstage as global oil and gas industry stakeholders gather for the 9th annual energy summit of the Solewant Group, an industry leader in pipe manufacturing and coating services.

The annual summit attracts policymakers, energy executives, financiers, development partners, and researchers from across Africa and the rest of the world, who brainstorm on strategies for building a sustainable and technologically advanced energy future for the continent. This year’s summit, the 9th in the series, is scheduled to take place from November 27–28, 2025, at the Solewant Industrial Park, Alode-Onne, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Nigeria from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily.

Themed “Emerging Technologies and the Future of Sustainable Energy Development in Africa,” the 2025 summit seeks to spotlight how transformative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, automation, data analytics, and other digital innovations are redefining the frontiers of Africa’s energy transition.

Announcing the summit in a joint statement earlier issued in Abuja at the end of a world press conference, two senior executives of the company, Dr. Benjamin Ubleble and Dr. Felix Onyela, stated that these technologies are not just tools of convenience but that they  represent a paradigm shift in how businesses enhance operational efficiency, local content participation, capacity building and strategic decision-making across the energy value chain.“By integrating smart technologies into exploration, production, and distribution systems, Africa can unlock new levels of productivity, improve resource optimization, and foster environmentally responsible growth,” the statement noted.

Giving details on the expectations of the global industry leaders, the statement added that the summit will also examine how digital transformation accelerates knowledge transfer, capacity development, and business intelligence.

“These are strong indices that are capable of enabling homegrown enterprises to compete globally, attract investments, and deliver outcomes with unprecedented precision, agility, and sustainability.

“The two-day event will gather policymakers, energy executives, financiers, development partners, and researchers from across the continent to discuss strategies for building a sustainable and technologically advanced energy future for Africa. It serves as a premier platform for investment matchmaking, policy dialogue, and knowledge exchange within the energy, oil and gas, and manufacturing sectors,” the statement explained. Key highlights of the summit will include: key paper presentations from industry leaders and government representatives; strategic panel discussions on technology and energy integration; technical presentations and emerging research and keynote messages from NNPC, IOCs, and EPC companies.Other key highlights include: exhibitions of intelligent energy solutions; case studies from across Africa and beyond; capacity-building workshops and networking opportunities Also speaking ahead of the event, the Group Managing Director and CEO of Solewant Group, Mr. Solomon Ewanehi, stated that the 9th Solewant Energy Summit provides an unparalleled platform for stakeholders to collaborate and innovate.

“We are committed to building bridges between policy, investment, and technology to accelerate Africa’s sustainable energy future,” he added.One of the expected key outcomes of the 9th Solewant Energy Summit will be  the promotion of strategic Investment Commitments across Africa’s Energy Value Chain The summit will help facilitate and foster new partnerships and funding pledges between governments, investors, and private sector players- unlocking capital for energy infrastructure, manufacturing, renewable projects, and technology-driven ventures across Africa. There will also be a launch of the “Africa Energy Innovation Network (AEIN)” This is a strategic multi-stakeholder network to drive collaboration among energy innovators, research institutions, financiers, and policymakers- creating a knowledge-sharing hub for emerging technologies and sustainable energy practices.

The summit also aims to strengthen Local Content and Capacity Development Frameworks.

Through policy dialogues and technical sessions, the summit is expected to produce actionable recommendations to deepen local participation, enhance industrial skills, and strengthen indigenous technology deployment in the oil, gas, and renewable sectors.

This year’s summit will also facilitate Business Matchmaking and Partnership Opportunities.

Dedicated matchmaking sessions will connect investors, project developers, and corporate leaders- fostering joint ventures, technology transfers, and long-term partnerships that are designed to expand intra-African trade under the AfCFTA framework.

The summit will also help to develop Policy and Regulatory Roadmap for Energy Transition and Digital Transformation.

The summit aims to come up with  a high-level communiqué, highlighting priority policy directions for governments and regional bodies- aimed at integrating digital technologies, improving regulatory coherence, and accelerating Africa’s clean energy transition.

During the summit, there will also be a recognition of excellence through the Solewant Awards & Gala Night Powered by SETI. Outstanding organisations and individuals who are shaping and contributing to Africa’s industrial and energy advancement will be celebrated, inspiring excellence, innovation, and leadership across the sector.

Solewant Group has not only sustained leadership in pipeline coating, fabrication, and asset integrity management across Nigeria- it continues to pioneer new frontiers in industrial and energy infrastructure development. Its industrial park at Alode-Onne now includes one of Africa’s most advanced multi-layer pipe coating plants, a dedicated pipe bend multi-layer coating plant (commissioned in mid-2025) developed in partnership with Euro-American OEMs, and full steel pipe milling capabilities.

At major global platforms such as OTC Houston and the IATF 2025 in Algiers, Solewant has showcased integrated solutions- spanning coating systems, fabrication, specialized coatings, and energy sector training and certifications- reinforcing its role as an African industrial innovator.Moreover, its strategic investments and policy advocacy have generated recognition.  For instance, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) publicly commended Solewant’s new pipe bend coating plant as evidence of “what can be achieved when local companies are empowered to own and operate strategic assets.”

Thus, the upcoming Summit builds on a robust foundation: past editions have catalyzed partnerships, drove investment pledges, and influenced policy discourse; and this  year’s edition now aims to deepen technology transfer, local capacity, and cross-border industrial alliances across Africa’s evolving energy landscape. For more than two decades, Solewant Group, has retained its position as Nigeria’s foremost pipe production, coating and energy sector industrial solutions provider, showcasing technologies to the global oil and gas industry.

From the 2025 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) held in Houston, Texas, United States of America (USA), to the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) 2025, held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State; from the Namibia Oil and Gas Conference in Windhoek to the 4th edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2025) convened by Afreximbank at SAFEX Building in Algiers, Solewant Group has continued to showcase innovative technological solutions and enormous technological breakthroughs in its state-of the-art industrial area in Nigeria.

At the OTC, Solewant Group showcased its leadership position in technological innovation in the global oil and gas industry, in a powerful presentation before international and Nigerian audiences. At the IATF 2025 in Algiers, Solewant Group presented its diversified portfolio: 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: Pipe and Metals Industries Ltd. (PMI) – Steel pipe and metal fabrication; and SETI – Industry-focused energy training and certification. At the NOGOF 2025, Ewanehi announced the unveiling of ‘Solewant Group Roadmap Plus to deepen its advancement in technological innovation and also boost its contributions to Nigeria’s industrial development and energy transition. The unveiling of the ‘Solewant Group Roadmap Plus’ was part of the company’s renewed commitment to its 10-year strategic vision. Solewant Group also joined senior government officials and other global players in the oil and gas, energy, minerals as well as maritime industries to dissect Gulf of Guinea (GoG) energy, maritime and investment opportunities recently-a high-level roundtable convened by The New Diplomat in collaboration with the Gulf of Guinea Commission(GGC) during  the recent 80th Session of UN General Assembly (UNGA 80) in New York, United States.

It will be recalled that Ewanehi and other global oil and gas industry players, including the Managing Director of TotalEnergies Nigeria, Mattieu Bouyer; Managing Director of ExxonMobil Nigeria, Jagir Baxi; and the Commission Chief Executive (CCE) of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, were also in Dorchester, London, for NUPRC’s Roadshow held recently.

Other industry leaders who showed strong presence include: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Seplat, Mr. Roger Brown; Chairman of AA Holdings, Austin Avuru; the Chairman of Governing Board, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mr. Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, and federal lawmakers. At the event, Ewanehi had listed transparency, innovation, collaboration, and emerging technologies as key drivers necessary for the growth of Africa’s energy sector.

In order to boost President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to prioritise locally made goods and services, and reduce import dependency by stimulating local production through the ‘Nigeria First Policy, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume recently commended efforts of Solewant Group and other Nigerian indigenous companies in  developing local capacities and capabilities needed to advance the federal government’ s Nigeria’s First Policy.  Speaking when Ewanehi paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja, Akume called on indigenous companies across all sectors of the economy to leverage the full potentials of the Nigeria First Policy, which he described as a strategic initiative designed to promote local content, stimulate economic growth and strengthen Nigerian industries for economic development.

.Adeoye writes from Lagos.