Africa-focused independents are set to play a defining role at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 – scheduled for October 12-16 in Cape Town – as companies expand portfolios, redevelop mature assets and pursue frontier exploration opportunities across the continent. From Angola and Namibia to Nigeria, Chad and Kenya, a new generation of independent operators is strengthening Africa’s upstream landscape through targeted acquisitions, high-impact drilling campaigns and infrastructure-led development strategies.
Afentra continues to advance exploration across proven shallow water provinces in Angola. Alongside its Block 3/05 and Block 3/05A partners, the company recently carried out a two well program, starting with the spudding of Pacassa SW. The program aligns with a multi-well redevelopment plan aimed at scaling reserves and boosting production from the current 5,856 bpd to upwards of 9,000 bpd. The partners plan to spud the Impala-2 development well, while hydraulic workover program preparations are ongoing with execution planned for late 2026 or early 2027. Onshore, the company is advancing technical studies at Blocks KON 15 and 19, with a planned 2D seismic acquisition program on the cards. Afentra’s CEO Paul McDade joins AEW 2026 to discuss these programs.
Nigeria’s Oando PLC recently made its foray into Angola, securing operatorship of Block KON 13. The move comes as the company expands its portfolio beyond Nigeria’s borders, leveraging its experience in the country to unlock new basins across the region. Oando’s existing portfolio encompasses more than 14 oil and gas assets across Nigeria and São Tomé and Príncipe. This is supported by a pipeline network of 1,255 km, 14 flow stations and gas processing capacity in excess of 3.6 billion standard cubic feet per day. Wale Tinubu, Group Chief Executive, Oando PLC, joins AEW 2026 to discuss the company’s growing portfolio and how regional lessons can support exploration in new markets.
With a portfolio of high-impact Atlantic-margin oil and gas assets, Sintana Energy continues to drive exploration across key projects in Namibia and Angola. The company has exposure to eight blocks across both countries, covering both deepwater and onshore acreage. In April 2026, Sintana Energy announces plans for a second listing on the Namibia Securities Exchange, signaling a new phase of financial maturity. The move comes as the company prepares for several exploration programs in Africa, including the advancement of the Mopane campaign at Namibia’s PEL 79. Robert Bose, CEO, Sintana Energy, is expected to share further insight during AEW 2026.
Rhino Resources is also advancing Namibian exploration programs, while broadening its footprint into South Africa’s onshore Karoo Basin. The company is engaged in a multi-well drilling campaign in Namibia’s Orange Basin, targeting FIDs between late 2026 and early 2027 across operated and partner-led projects. These include the Volans and Capricornus discoveries at PEL 85. In South Africa, the company is advancing a six-well campaign targeting helium, methane and hydrogen resources. Further insights into these projects will be shared at AEW 2026 as Travis Smithard, CEO, Rhino Resources, confirms his participation.
Meanwhile, as an American publicly-traded company with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa, ERHC Energy Inc has centered its operations around de-risked exploration, cost efficient development and high-margin production. The company has stakes in Kenya’s Block 11A, and while no wells have been drilled to date, the acreage offers promising geology and is supported by extensive 2D seismic coverage. In Chad, ERHC Energy Inc has stakes in three oil blocks in the Doseo and Doba Basins, while in the Joint Development Zones between Nigeria and São Tomé and Príncipe, has exposure to six of the areas nine blocks. Peter Ntephe, CEO, ERHC Energy Inc, joins AEW 2026, where he is expected to share insights into these projects.
“Independent operators are moving quickly, taking strategic risks and unlocking value in both mature and frontier basins across the continent. AEW 2026 will provide a critical platform for these firms to engage investors, governments and technical partners as they advance the next generation of African energy projects,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber.
Africa Fact: As of 2018, the top 30 African companies had operations in 16 countries across the continent, up from an average of 8 countries only 10 years prior.
Africa Fact: African foreign direct investment in Africa nearly tripled from 2006 to 2016.
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Phuti Mahanyele – Former CEO of Shanduka Group, current Sigma Capital Executive Chair: At 17, she left South Africa to pursue her studies, and obtained a bachelor\’s degree in Economics and earned an MBA from De Montfort University. She would also later go on to complete Harvard University\’s Kennedy School of Government executive education programme. Determined to be a success, Mahanyele joined an international investment banking company specialising in infrastructural development in New York City called Fieldstone Private Capital Group. She later became Vice-President of the firm, then transferred to the company\’s office in South Africa. After returning to South Africa, she became the head of Project Finance South Africa at the Development Back of Southern Africa. She was headhunted, and advanced to the position of managing director of Shanduka Energy, later becoming the CEO of Shanduka Group. She would go on to hold this position for 10 years, securing major deals including those with Coca-Cola and McDonalds. In 2007, she was selected as a Global Young Leader by the World Economic Forum. In 2009, she won the Rutgers Visions of Excellence award and The Most Influential Woman in Government and Business award from Rutgers University. In 2011, she was named one of the 20 youngest power women in Africa by Forbes. In 2013, she won the Distinguished Achievement award by the Douglass Society.