KEY POINTS
- Solewant Group held one of the largest private booths at Nigeria’s OTC Houston 2026 pavilion.
- The company commissioned a pipe bend coating plant in Rivers State in July 2025.
- Nearly 300 companies are competing for 50 oil blocks in Nigeria’s ongoing 2025 licensing round.
Nigeria’s energy sector landed in Houston last week. Solewant Group, one of Nigeria’s most integrated industrial players, brought its latest technology to the 2026 Offshore Technology Conference, where more than 25,000 energy professionals, government officials and researchers from over 100 countries gathered from May 4 to 7.
The company held one of the largest private exhibition booths in the Nigeria Pavilion. Isa Momodu, Executive Director of Solewant Specialty Protective Coatings and Paints Limited and Group Head for Solewant in the United States, led the delegation. He was joined by Dr. Felix Onyela, the group’s General Manager of Marketing and Sales, who delivered the main presentation on behalf of Group CEO Solomon Ewanehi.
“In July 2025, we addressed the age-long difficulty faced by our clients, and now provide and protect their pipeline assets with premium solutions,” Onyela said.
A pipe bend problem solved
The presentation centered on a specific technical breakthrough. Solewant identified a longstanding industry gap: applying multi-layer polyethylene and polypropylene coatings to irregularly shaped pipeline fittings such as pipe bends, tees and flanges. The absence of that capability had led to coating failures, corrosion, leaks, revenue loss and environmental damage across the sector.
In July 2025, the company commissioned a purpose-built pipe bend coating plant at its industrial park in Alode, Eleme-Onne, Rivers State. The facility now deploys multi-layer coating technology on small to large diameter pipe bends for NNPC and EPC companies. A second plant, the SSPC Automated Specialty Coating and Paints Manufacturing Factory, is set for commissioning in July 2026.
Nigeria’s upstream sector draws record interest
Solewant’s OTC appearance coincided with a broader display of confidence in Nigeria’s energy sector. Speaking at the Nigerian Pavilion, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan disclosed that nearly 300 local and foreign companies were competing for just 50 oil blocks in Nigeria’s ongoing 2025 licensing round.
PETAN Chairman Wole Ogunsanya said technology and partnerships were essential to pushing Nigeria’s oil production to three million barrels per day within five years.
Solewant used the platform to invite global oil and gas professionals to its 10th Africa Energy Summit, scheduled for November 26 to 27, 2026, at its industrial park in Rivers State.
