All articles in the Petroleum People Section:

Azule Energy has appointed the Founder and Chairperson of the Women in Oil, Gas & Energy Network Namibia (WOGEN), as the Deputy General Manager for its operations in the country.

Rachel Namata Msiska had worked as Deputy General Manager and Public & Government Affairs Manager at ExxonMobil Namibia since February 2025.

She will play effectively the same role in Azule Energy, which has more proven set of assets in the southwest African country than ExxonMobil does.

Azule Energy holds a 42.5% participating interest in offshore Petroleum Exploration License 85 (PEL 85) in Namibia’s Orange Basin in which three discoveries have been made. The company holds an option to assume operatorship during the development phase.

ExxonMobil operates 1710 and 1810 with a 90% working interest, and Blocks 1711 and with 85% interest. It has not announced any commercial finds.

“In her new role, Rachel will support Country General Manager Giovanni Aquilina in strengthening Azule Energy’s presence and stakeholder relationships in Namibia as the company advances its long-term ambitions in the country”, Azule says in a statement. “Shel brings more than 12 years of experience in the energy and petroleum sector, with expertise in stakeholder engagement, public and government affairs, corporate governance, and community investment”.

Msiska has held leadership positions within the Namibia Petroleum Operators Association (NAMPOA) and NAMCOR, the state hydrocarbon company. She has built strong relationships across government, industry and civil society.

Victoria Sibeya has been appointed as substantive managing director of the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR), effective July1 2026.

She takes the top job 20 years after she joined the state hydrocarbon company as a geoscientist and 23 years after starting her first job as a geologist at the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

Sibeya succeeds Mtundeni Ndafyaalako, who has acted as managing director since March 1, 2026.

She had acted briefly in this position, between April 2025 and August 2025, as the third interim MD after Immanuel Mulunga, the last substantive MD, was suspended in April 2023 on charges of fraud and breach of employment contract. Mulunga was succeeded in acting capacity by Shiwana Ndeunyema, who voluntarily stepped down after six months. Ndeunyema handed over to Ebson Uanguta, who returned to his position at the Bank of Namibia after more than a year at NAMCOR. When Sibeya was appointed to succeed Uanguta, she was tasked by the board “to guide the company “throughout this transition whilst the hunt for a permanent Managing Director continues”. Sibeya handed over to Maureen Hinda-Mbuende, who was then succeeded by Mtundeni Ndafyaalako.

In the substantive position, effective from 1 July 2026, Sibeya will serve for a period of five years.

“As Namibia enters a transformative era in its energy sector, the board is confident that her strategic and ethical leadership will strengthen NAMCOR’s role in advancing national energy security, commercial resilience and long-term value for all stakeholders,” NAMCOR declared in a short statement announcing the appointment.

Up until the new appointment, Sibeya served as Executive Upstream Exploration, a position she has held since April 2019.

She was once the Secretary for the Africa Region of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and is currently a Trustee on Namibia’s Petrofund Board of Trustees.

Seplat Energy PLC has appointed Effiong (Effy) Okon as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director with effect from August 1, 2026.

The company’s board has also elected Tony O. Elumelu, as Chairman with effect from  January 1, 2027.

Okon was initially hired from Shell in 2018 to succeed Austin Avuru, the company’s  founding CEO . He was appointed executive director in charge of Operations (Operations Director or OD for short), awaiting Avuru, who was to leave in 2020. But in mid -2019, the ABC Orjiakor  led board of directors decided that the  job be thrown open for Effiong and Roger Brown, then the company’s British Chief Financial Officer, to “contest”,

It was a tense, aggravating, period in Seplat.

In a detailed passage in his memoir My Entrepreneurship Journey,  Avuru recalled the experience: “Nine of the twelve Directors were invited to vote (with the chairman holding back his vote in case there was a tie). Five expatriate Directors (that, including the Nigerian/British director) voted for the CFO, three Nigerians voted for the OD while one Nigerian Director abstained.

“In the nine years of the company, we had never been so racially and bitterly divided on any issue”, Avuru wrote in the book. “I stormed out of the meeting. I had never felt that deep sense of betrayal by a partner in my life. I went back to my room where my wife was waiting. I told her I would announce my resignation that night and she forbade me from taking such a hasty decision, especially one taken in anger”.

Roger Brown officially assumed the role of CEO at Seplat Energy on August 1, 2020. Effiong was ousted from the board in 2022 and replaced with Samson Chibogwu Ezugworie, who has since served as the Chief Operations Officer (COO). He was initially moved to the unglamorous New Energy Directorate, before being “promoted” to the more consequential role of Managing Director of ANOH Gas Processing Company, where he led project execution to first gas in January 2026.

ELUMELU, ON HIS PART, joined the Board in January 2026 and is Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, which holds a 20.07% shareholding in Seplat Energy. As reported in the current monthly edition of the Africa Oil+Gas Report, he will be the second non-independent, non-executive director in Seplat’s history (after A.B.C Orjiakor) to take the role. He will be taking advantage of the company’s recent annulment of the rule that only independent, non-executive directors could be chairmen of Seplat. When Seplat listed on the London stock exchange in 2014, it decided to incorporate some of the rules it saw as the stock exchange’s best practices, for its board chairmanship. One such rule was that “non-executive directors”, meaning representatives of large shareholders (with stakes of at least 7.5%) on the board, were forbidden from taking the chairmanship. Only independent, non-executive directors could be chairmen. This has resulted in two independent non-executive directors becoming chairmen after Orjiakor’s exit: Basil Omiyi (May 2020 to April 2024) and Udoma Udo Udoma (April 2024-present). That rule has been changed. This is an evolving story.

Yetunde Taiwo has been elected president of the Nigerian Gas Association.

She takes over from Akachukwu Nwokedi, the General Counsel and company secretary of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Ltd, who had helmed the influential advocacy group since April 2023.

Taiwo joined the US major Chevron as a reservoir engineer in 1991. She has focused on the gas development business for the last 10 of her 35 year career.

She was a planning advisor at Chevron Nigeria’s Asset Management Division when she left the company for BG, in 2007. She left the British independent for the (then) nascent Seplat Energy in May 2011, as head of planning and economics.

In January 2016, Taiwo was appointed the Head of Seplat’s Gas Business, overseeing the development of one of the fastest growing domestic gas businesses in the country.

In 2019 she became the founding Managing Director of the ANOH Gas Processing Company (AGPC), a midstream special purpose vehicle created by Seplat and equally owned by Seplat and the Nigerian Gas Company to develop the ANOH gas field in the eastern Niger Delta basin. AGPC manages the $600Million midstream development that is monetising 300Million standard cubic feet of gas that can be optimally produced every day from the Seplat portion of the Assa North /Ohaji South fields, straddling Shell operated Oil Mining Lease(OML) 21 and Seplat operated OML 53, onshore eastern Nigeria.

Taiwo joined First E & P (FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company) in January 2023 as the General Manager for Integrated Gas Development.

At a Lagos Petroleum Club lecture/dinner in Lagos, hosting Gbenga Komolafe, then Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), in February 2023, Taiwo famously prefaced her question, during the Q&A session with the statement: “I am Mrs Yetunde Taiwo.  They call me Madam Gas”. The hall erupted with laughter and applause. .

John Hamilton took a leave of absence from the role of Panoro Resources’ Group Chief Executive Officer, for personal reasons in October 2025.

He didn’t return to work. Instead, he has announced his retirement.

Hamilton was a momentous leader at Panoro, an Oslo listed junior entirely focused on African operations.

He took the office in 2015. His 11 year tenure as CEO was the longest in the 17 year history of Panoro, which was founded in 2009.

The entry into Gabon’s Dussafu permit had happened before him, but he extracted enormous value for the company when he sold 25% stake to the aggressive operator BW Energy in April 2017. BW made an upfront payment of $11.Million in cash plus some working capital adjustments. This was  more than a  full year to first oil. Four years later, Panoro finalized the acquisition of Tullow Oil’s entire 10% interest in the same acreage for $38Million, further solidifying its position.

Tunisia: In July/August 2018, Panoro completed the acquisition of DNO Tunisia AS, taking over interests in the Sfax Offshore Exploration Permit, Ras El Besh Concession, and Hammamet Offshore Exploration Permit.OMV Tunisia Assets, In December 2018,Panoro completed the acquisition of OMV (Tunisia) Upstream GmbH, securing a 49% stake in five producing oil concessions (TPS Assets).Sfax Petroleum Corp (2023): In April 2023, Panoro agreed to acquire the remaining 40% stake in Sfax Petroleum Corporation AS.

Equatorial Guinea: Hamilton’s Panoro acquired Block G (14.25% Non-Operated Interest) in Equatorial Guinea in February 2021 as part of a transaction with Tullow Oil. In April 2023, the company completed Farm-in, with 12% interest in the Kosmos-operated Block S. In the same month, Panoro completed all regulatory approvals for Block EG-01 (56% Operated Interest) from the government. In November 2024, formal production-sharing contract signed for 80% Operated Interest in Block EG-23. In February 2026, Panoro announced an agreement to acquire an additional 40.375% interest in Block G from Kosmos Energy, bringing their total stake to 54.625% (expected to close Q3 2026.

“Mr Hamilton has successfully led the Company through multiple accretive acquisitions, equity and debt financings, challenging periods of macro-uncertainty including the COVID 19 pandemic, value adding development programmes and exploration successes, enabling Panoro to achieve several key milestones and establish itself as one of the leading independent upstream E&P companies active in Africa today”, the company says.

Panoro isn’t letting Hamilton go entirely. “The Nomination Committee has proposed the election of Mr Hamilton to the Board as non-executive director”, the company says in the statement..

Julien Balkany will continue to act as Executive Chairman until at least the end of 2026, working closely alongside Eric d’Argentré, who will assume the position of Chief Executive Officer from 1^st January 2027.

Balkany will head Panoro’s Executive Committee to be comprised of Eric d’Argentré (Chief Operating Officer and President), Qazi Qadeer (Chief Financial Officer), Andrew Dymond (Head of Corporate Development) and Mr Kim Hansen (Head of Engineering).

“Deputy Chairman Torstein Sanness will transition to a new role, becoming Emeritus Chairman, in this capacity he will continue as an observer to the Board, and also oversee a newly formed Technical Committee. Mr Sanness will also join the Nomination Committee, replacing Grace Reksten Skaugen who will step down at the AGM”.