Business
Seplat workers begin indefinite strike over welfare concerns
Workers at Seplat Energy began an indefinite strike on Friday, a move that could disrupt production at a time of rising global oil prices and mounting pressure on Nigeria to boost supply.
The workers, under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), embarked on the industrial action following a breakdown in negotiations over the 2026 collective bargaining agreement and broader welfare concerns.
The union communicated its grievances in two letters addressed to the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Reuters reported on Friday.
The workers said the strike would continue “until further notice.”
Seplat Energy had not issued an official response as of the time of filing this report.
However, PENGASSAN indicated that its members would scale down operations, including production reporting and export activities, while maintaining only essential safety and power functions.
The strike affects the company’s onshore and offshore assets, joint venture operations, and offices nationwide. Junior workers, represented by a different union, are not part of the action.
The industrial action comes despite the company’s strong operational performance in 2025. Seplat reported a 150.4 per cent increase in revenue to N4 trillion, driven by a significant expansion in output and its first full year of offshore operations.
Average daily production rose by 148 per cent to 131,506 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), representing roughly 7 to 9 per cent of Nigeria’s total liquids output.
Onshore production also grew by 14 per cent, supported by upgrades to the Sapele Gas Plant, which increased processing capacity to 90 million standard cubic feet per day.
Despite the surge in revenue, profit growth remained constrained by rising costs, including substantial tax obligations.
The company projects production to increase to 155,000 boepd, underscoring the potential impact of any prolonged disruption.
“We benefitted from successful execution of several key offshore activities that kick-started life for Seplat as an offshore operator, while at the same time delivering onshore production performance that was the strongest in recent memory,” the CEO, Roger Brown, said.
ALSO READ: Seplat Energy appoints two independent non-executive directors
He added that drilling would remain central to the company’s long-term growth strategy, with plans to deploy its first jack-up drilling rig in the third quarter of the year.
Seplat, which is dual-listed in Lagos and London, also declared a fourth-quarter dividend of 5 cents per share and a special dividend of 3.3 cents. Mr Brown said the firm is on track to deliver cumulative returns of $1 billion to shareholders by 2030.
The strike comes amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East that have tightened global oil supply, heightening the potential impact on Nigeria if the disruption persists.
Seplat is a major supplier of gas to power generation companies across the country. Any sustained disruption to its operations could further strain the electricity supply nationwide.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has attained trillionaire status after SpaceX, the rocket, AI and satellite communications company established by him, turned a soaraway success on its first trading day, surging 20 per cent to $2.1 trillion in valuation.
SpaceX’s shares closed at $161 on the Nasdaq on Friday, compared to its initial public offering (IPO) price of $135, making it the biggest-ever stock market debut.
The IPO had earlier raised $75 billion from investors and the underwriters of the transaction before the listing.
“Liftoff! First $SPCX trade complete,” Space X wrote on X (formerly Twitter), which Mr Musk also owns.
The 54-year old now has a total net worth of $1.1 trillion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with its stake in SpaceX standing at 42 per cent or $767.1 billion as of Friday.
SpaceX debuted with a valuation of around $1.8 trillion. Its valuation at the end of Friday’s trade makes it the sixth-largest publicly traded company in the United States.
Trading under the ticker symbol “SPCX,” SpaceX began trading shortly before noon, attracting strong investor demand.
The listing places SpaceX among the world’s most valuable companies, despite the firm reporting a loss of nearly $5 billion last year and generating significantly less revenue than many technology giants with comparable valuations.
“I gave SpaceX a 10 per cent chance of succeeding at all,” Mr Musk said shortly before the company was listed.
SpaceX, since its establishment in 2002, has evolved from an experimental rocket startup into a dominant player in aerospace, satellite communications, and AI-related infrastructure.
READ ALSO: Elon Musk announces formation of American Party
Starlink, its satellite internet business, has expanded SpaceX beyond rocket manufacturing into a broader technology and connectivity platform.
Mr Musk, who now controls several companies, including Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, and X, began building his wealth by co-founding Zip2 and PayPal.
After completing the acquisition of X in October 2022 in a deal worth $44 billion, Mr Musk introduced monetisation features on the platform, which contributed to the growth of his business empire.
After selling Zip2 and later PayPal, he reinvested much of his earnings into Tesla, SpaceX, and other ventures.
Mr Musk’s wealth is now nearly equivalent to the entire economic output of Switzerland or Poland.
BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has received a four-member delegation from Kenya’s Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) for a four-day technical study visit in Abuja, solidifying Nigeria’s position as a leading reference point for pension reform and regulatory innovation across the African continent.
The Kenyan delegation, led by John Keah, Director of Market Conduct and Industry Development at the RBA, is visiting Nigeria from June 8 to 11, 2026, to understudy PenCom’s regulatory and supervisory frameworks.
Keah noted that the engagement highlights the critical role of cross-border learning among African regulators aiming to optimize retirement systems and improve pension outcomes for citizens. He added that structural similarities between the two nations’ pension landscapes make Nigeria’s journey highly relevant to Kenya’s ongoing domestic reforms.
The RBA delegation is focusing its study on PenCom’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives, its risk-based supervision framework, and its strategies for expanding pension coverage to both the informal sector and the diaspora.
Keah particularly lauded the governance safeguards within Nigeria’s pension system and described the Diaspora Pension Arrangement as an innovative milestone capable of reducing old-age poverty and enhancing long-term retirement security.
Welcoming the delegation, the Director General of PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, reiterated Nigeria’s dedication to regional collaboration and knowledge exchange. Represented by the Director of the Surveillance Department, Abdulrahaman Muhammad Saleem, the Director General revealed that pension assets under management in Nigeria have grown to over ₦32 trillion, representing approximately 10.4 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This growth, she noted, stems from continuous regulatory reforms, heightened governance standards, and rigorous supervisory mechanisms established since the inception of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in 2004.
Ms. Oloworaran also highlighted the Federal Government’s recent settlement of outstanding accrued pension rights liabilities as a historic turning point for the CPS.
The intervention, executed through the issuance of a Federal Government bond, effectively resolved a prolonged funding backlog that had previously delayed retirement benefits for public sector employees within Treasury-Funded Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Under the new framework, accrued rights are transferred directly into retirees’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs), granting immediate access to investment returns and eliminating lengthy waiting periods.
The technical visit, anchored on the theme “Risk-Based Supervision and ESG Integration in Pension Funds,” includes interactive departmental presentations, study tours to selected Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), and collaborative sessions on emerging risks.
Both regulatory bodies expect the engagement to deepen bilateral cooperation and foster resilient, inclusive, and sustainable pension architectures across East and West Africa.
The post Nigeria’s Pension Assets Top ₦32tn as Kenyan Regulator Understudies Reforms appeared first on Business Today NG.
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