OPINION/ANALYSIS
By Tako Koning, in Calgary
The annual Global Energy Show was held in Calgary from June 9 – 11, 2026. DMG Events stages the conference. According to DMG senior vice president Nick Samain the show generally serves as a good barometer of what’s going on in the energy sector – and that’s on the upswing.
Samain said “Approximately 38,000 attendees were present and there were representatives and delegates from over 100 countries. It undoubtedly was the best show in the past decade ever since the oil price collapse in 2014 – 2015”.
The three-day event included hundreds of speakers and exhibitors from around the globe. It served as a massive hub for cross-border collaboration across oil and gas, hydrogen, renewables, clean tech, nuclear and AI data centres.
Speakers included Tim Hodgson, Canada’s Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister, who touted the country’s position as a global energy superpower. He reminded the audience that Canada was the world’s fourth largest producer of crude oil and the world’s fifth largest producer of natural gas.
Other high-ranking executives and public officials included the premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith and John McKenzie from Canada’s Cenovus Energy. Also represented was Jim Wright, chair of the Railroad Commission of Texas, a regulatory agency for oil and gas and pipeline safety in the U.S. Musabbeh Al Kaabi, chief executive of the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company was also a keynote speaker as well as Haitham Al Ghais, secretary general of OPEC. Attendance at this year’s Global Energy Show also significantly increased due the attendees’ concerns about global energy security. Concurrent with this event, was the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the war in Iran which sent global oil prices through the roof and raised serious about global energy supply.
Ekperikpe Ekpo, Nigeria’s minister of state for petroleum resources (Gas), was part of a panel on The New Global Oil and Gas Order: Power, Alliances & the LNG Super-Cycle. Minister Ekpo told a crowd of hundreds “There are immediate and practical opportunities for Canada and Nigeria to partner on liquified natural gas-related projects”. He invited Canada to partner with Nigeria “at this very point in time” to address global energy security. “We need you now more than ever. Our message is simple: partner with Nigeria to build infrastructure, deploy technology and mobilize capital”.
Ekperipe Ekpo, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), addressing an attentive audience in Calgary, Canada
Nigeria was ably represented by Lagos and Port Harcourt-based companies having booths including Well Fluid Services, Geoplex Drilling Limited, Goddie Chemicals International Limited, Offshore Petroleum and Marine Logistics, Jeshawn Engineering Limited, McKian Energy Solutions Limited, Poseiden Energy Services Limited, and Odekole International Services Limited. Also represented was NipeX – Nigerian Petroleum Exchange as well as the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN). I interviewed Kevin Nwanze, Executive Director of PETAN and he told me that approximately two hundred Nigerians were present at this year’s event. Many of them first attended the Offshore Technology Show (OTC) in Houston, Texas in May and then travelled north to Calgary to be at the Global Energy Show. He said that “Being here was worthwhile for Nigerians to assess business opportunities in Canada and elsewhere. It is also an opportunity to build business relationships”. In 2027, the Global Energy Show will be held June 8 – 10.
In front of the NipeX booth is Tako Koning with Biyi Ishola (left) who represents U-Lead Multiservices Limited in Calgary. Their headquarters are in Lagos.
Tako Koning is a Senior Geologist based in Calgary. Koning has a B.Sc. in Geology from the University of Alberta and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Alberta. He was employed by TEXACO from 1973 – 2002 in Canada and also in Indonesia, Nigeria and Angola. In Nigeria, from 1992 – 1995, he was Assistant Managing Director (Exploration) for Texaco Overseas Production Limited (TOPCON). From 1996 – 2015 he worked in Angola for Texaco, Tullow Oil and Gaffney, Cline & Associates. He has been an active member of Africa Oil + Gas Report’s International Advisory Board for twenty-four years since the publication was founded in Lagos in 2001.
