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Key Points
- Austin Avuru’s Seplat stake jumped $15.84 million in two weeks as shares surged nearly 10% on the Nigerian Exchange.
- Seplat stock climbed from N4,964.4 ($3.24) to N5,450 ($3.55), boosting the firm’s market value past $2.1 billion,
- Despite recent gains, Seplat shares remain down 4.39% year-to-date, leaving early 2025 investors with paper losses.
Nigerian energy mogul Austin Avuru, co-founder of Seplat Energy, has a sharp rebound in the value of his stake in the company over the past two weeks. Shares of the oil and gas giant have rallied on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), pushing up the value of Avuru’s 8.5-percent holding by N24.29 billion ($15.84 million).
Avuru holds 50.02 million shares in Seplat, making him one of the largest individual investors in the firm. Between June 17 and the time of writing, the market value of his stake rose from N248.32 billion ($162 million) to N272.60 billion ($171.73 million).
The recent uptick follows a rough start to the year. In the first half of 2025, Avuru’s stake had dropped by $23.6 million, from $183.09 million on January 1 to $159.46 million on June 8.
Seplat Energy rallies as market confidence returns
Founded in 2009 by Nigerian energy magnates Austin Avuru and Ambrosie Orjiako, Seplat Energy has risen to become Nigeria’s largest listed energy group on the NGX, anchored by a dominant presence in the Niger Delta’s oil and gas sector.
In the past two weeks, Seplat’s stock has gained 9.78 percent, rising from N4,964.4 ($3.24) on June 17 to N5,450 ($3.55) as of this writing. The rally has pushed the company’s market value past $2.1 billion, strengthening its standing among Africa’s key players in the energy space.
Your money and your life
Still, for everyday investors, the picture is mixed. Despite the recent gains, Seplat shares are down 4.39 percent since the start of the year. A $100,000 investment in the company’s shares in January would now be worth about $95,610, leaving a paper loss of $4,390.
As Nigeria’s oil and gas industry adjusts to changing global prices and shifting regulations, Seplat’s story reflects both the challenges and the staying power of homegrown energy giants.
