BY Sebastine Obasi

Africapitalism and partnership have been identified as key components of energy development in Africa.

Heirs Energies CEO, Osayande Igiehon, gave this insight on African energy leadership at the just concluded inaugural Congo Energy and Investment Forum held in Brazzaville.

Osa joined distinguished panels of African business leaders at the Kintele Congress Center on March 26th

Speaking on two key themes: “Energy and Investment Outlook” and “Field Development Drive: Towards 500,000 Barrels Per Day.” Igiehon shared practical strategies on how the Republic of Congo could accelerate its journey towards achieving its ambitious 500,000 barrels per day production target.

“Within three months of acquiring OML 17 from the previous operator in 2021, we doubled production from 25,000 barrels per day to over 50,000 barrels,” Osa told the audience. “Today, we consistently sustain this growth, aiming to surpass 100,000 barrels per day – something previously unachieved on this block. The same approaches can help Congo maximize production from its mature fields,” he said.

He also highlighted his company’s successful doubling of gas production to 80-100 million scf per day, directly supporting Nigeria’s domestic power generation and industrial sectors. He emphasized Heirs Energies’ Brownfield Excellence approach as a blueprint for rapid production growth that could be replicated across Congo’s mature energy assets to help reach the nation’s production goals.

The forum, organized by Energy Capital and Power in partnership with the Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons, brought together government officials, industry leaders, and investors to discuss strategies for accelerating energy development across the continent.

Igiehon also underscored the importance of Africapitalism – the philosophy pioneered by Heirs Holdings Chairman Tony Elumelu – as a guiding principle for energy development that creates shared prosperity.

“Driven by our Chairman Tony Elumelu’s philosophy of Africapitalism, we lead with private sector solutions that create shared prosperity and improve lives across Africa. This is the spirit of the Heirs Holdings Group,” he stated. “This approach is exemplified by the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which recently committed $15 million to fund 3,000 entrepreneurs across all 52 African countries. Since launching with a $100 million commitment in 2015, the Foundation has now empowered over 24,000 entrepreneurs – more than double its initial target – catalyzing job creation and economic development continent-wide.”

“We believe in partnerships built on shared destiny, where success benefits all stakeholders,” he noted. “Africa-to-Africa collaboration must be enhanced to address our common challenges of energy poverty and economic development.”

Igiehon also highlighted Heirs Energies’ operational excellence and turnaround expertise: “We are specialists in revitalizing mature assets across multiple sectors – from hospitality, exemplified by the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, to significant contributions in power generation and distribution, driving efficiency and sustainable value creation.”

The forum provided a platform for Heirs Energies to advance discussions on potential partnerships in the Congo Basin as part of its Pan-African expansion strategy.