Sahara Group, a leading global energy and infrastructure conglomerate, is aggressively expanding its upstream capacity, aiming to produce 350,000 barrels of oil per day within the next five years. The expansion will be driven by a significant upgrade of its Exploration and Production service offerings, development of its execution capacity, and the acquisition of seven brand new rigs for accelerated and more efficient production.

Strategic Infrastructure Investment

Leste Aihevba, Chief Technical Officer at Asharami Energy, a Sahara Group upstream company, disclosed the expansion plans while engaging investors and stakeholders at a strategic meeting on the sidelines of the recently concluded Africa Energy Week in Cape Town. The rig acquisition is central to Sahara's plan to boost its production to at least 350,000 barrels per day of oil and 1,000,000 MMScf/d of gas in Nigeria within the next five years.

Aihevba emphasized that Sahara's massive infrastructure drive is transforming its operations, boosting capacity, and global competitiveness in Africa's energy sector. “At Sahara Group, we continue to invest in the infrastructure needed to responsibly unlock Africa's resources across our upstream, midstream, power, and infrastructure businesses, covering the full value chain,” he stated.

Rig Deployment and Operations

The company has expanded its reserves development and production capacity with the acquisition of seven rigs for both drilling and workover operations. Two of the seven new rigs are already in Nigeria, with another two expected to arrive before year-end. The rigs will be managed by Arahas Global Oilfield Services, a Sahara Group company. These investments are already yielding results, with one of the rigs, the state-of-the-art 2000 HP Land rig named L-Buba, having successfully commenced operations by spudding a gas development well in one of Sahara's fields.

The second rig is currently being mobilized to the site to spud an oil development well, with other rigs to follow soon.

Continental Energy Vision

Aihevba underscored the critical importance of local collaboration and regional cooperation to position Africa as a global energy leader. “The journey towards a secure and sustainable energy future for Africa cannot be travelled in silos,” Aihevba said. “Every refinery upgrade, every gas commercialization project, every power reform and community wealth accretion initiative must be part of a broader continental blueprint.”

The expansion strategy is described as complementing efforts geared towards accelerating the pace from exploration to production, enhancing local content participation, and ensuring Africa efficiently develops the reserves that will power the continent's growth and energy future. The company's upstream operations are anchored on what it describes as a robust shared prosperity approach, which recognizes host communities and government as partners, collaborating towards becoming locally competent and globally competitive in bringing energy to life responsibly.

Local Partnership Approach

Aihevba highlighted the company's commitment to matching investments in infrastructure with development and deployment of exceptional human capital, fostering cross-border partnerships, localizing global technical expertise, and technology adoption. According to the company, these efforts are making significant contributions to the growing efforts to accelerate Africa's energy transition, while ensuring that no community is left behind.

The announcement was made during Africa Energy Week in Cape Town, South Africa, on 5 October 2025, where Sahara Group representatives engaged with industry stakeholders and investors about the company's expansion plans and its broader vision for Africa's energy sector development.

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