The Surge, Frontier Energy Network’s Monthly Newsletter
“As usual, the Africa Energies Summit was an incredible and special event for Azule Energy. Since our inception, this event has been our platform to introduce our company to the world beyond Angola. Every year, we’ve been amazed by the unique environment it creates.” Azule Energy CEO, Adriano Mongini.
It’s a fact. The Africa Energies Summit is operating on a different level.
Unequivocal feedback like this 100% underlines the critical role the Africa Energies Summit plays – and its unrivalled influence in promoting the continent’s upstream industry to the world.
Picture This!
The Summit professional photo gallery is available via an exclusive link sent to all Summit attendees. Check your inbox for the link if you've not already done so, and feel free to share any images online whilst tagging Africa Energies Summit® | Africa’s Premier Global Upstream Conference | 12 - 14th May 2026 and Frontier | Opening Doors in Energy to Get Deals Done
Every single attendee we spoke to had the same message for us - this year's Africa Energies Summit was the very best yet!
Bonded by the shared objective to guarantee affordable energy access for everyone, the conversations had during the week – whether formal or informal - centred on the essential building blocks that create the foundation for effective government-investor partnerships and draw new investment capital to Africa.
There’s a reason we hold the Summit in London; its strategic location maximises participation, as demonstrated by the attendance of 40 African government entities, 130+ speakers, and 75 sponsors who gathered this year for exclusive access to the insights and networking opportunities that have justifiably earned recognition as the industry's finest.
A massive "thank you" to our sponsors for their support in 2025!
“It was an incredibly well organised event, the opportunity to network was like no other I've been to; the App was a fantastic way of reaching out to people beforehand to organise meetings (I had an almost 85% success rate!!!).” Casper Mortensen, Vice President – Western Hemisphere, DUG
Get us in your calendar for 2026 and take advantage of our incredible Ultra Early Bird Rate for 2026 - saving you over £1,500!!
Egypt’s Upstream Renaissance – Making the Exclusive Accessible
Demonstrating our deep knowledge and prolific industry network, we are proud to provide Egypt’s upstream renaissance as a powerful platform from which to promote the diversification, innovative exploration, and a progressive policy framework that is fundamental to unlocking new opportunities and fostering investor confidence in the country.
We followed up the Africa Energies Summit exclusive Egypt Platinum Showcase with another exclusive, as we combined expert industry insight and in-country perspective for a webinar which brought the current market landscape and all opportunities to life for our audience.
Our panel, hosted by Daniel Davidson featured
🎤 Nicolas KATCHAROV - CEO International, Energean
🎤 Iman Hill - Country Manager and MD, Vaalco Energy
🎤 Aser Abdelaziz - New Business Manager, Egypt Upstream Gateway (EUG)
🎤 Gayle Meikle - Founder and CEO, Frontier
The Big Five Board Awards – a night to remember!
Always a significant event, we seriously moved the 29th Big Five Board Awards up several notches this year, with a fabulous evening awards ceremony, generously sponsored by Eni and introduced by Maggy Shino.
What an incredible way to round off the best-ever Africa Energies Summit; we are so proud to have hosted an extra-special event. Laughs, clapping, pride, and generally having an incredible time in each other’s company were the order of the day as we celebrated and recognised the very best in individual and corporate contribution to the African upstream industry.
We’d like to take this opportunity to once again send kudos to all the Big Five Top 50 finalists, and sincere congratulations to the eventual winners. Our respect is huge for the trailblazing work you all undertake.
29th Big Five Board Award Winners
🌍 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 – 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: Katrina Fisher, ExxonMobil
🌍 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 - 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: Victoria Sibeya, NAMCOR NAMIBIA
🌍 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 - 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Standard Bank Group
🌍 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 - 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬: ExxonMobil Foundation - STEM Africa
🌍 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 – 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: John Ardill, ExxonMobil
🌍 𝐋𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 – 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Azule Energy
🌍 𝐑𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 – 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚’𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐂/𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: ANPG Angola
🌍 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 – 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚’𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: Rhino Resources
🌍 𝐁𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐨 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 – 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚’𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 & 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: TGS
🌍 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚’𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 – 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲: H.E. Diamantino Pedro Azevedo
The 30th Big Five Awards in 2026 is set to be even more memorable – if such a thing is possible! Keep an eye out for updates as the year progresses.
World Energies Summit
Setting the agenda for global upstream industry strategies and priorities, the World Energies Summit focuses on the regions where upstream potential abounds - the global upstream "hotspots".
Join CEOs, business leaders, leading voices of governments and NOCs and some of the most insightful industry commentators in London this October, for the 3rd edition of this, the fastest-growing platform for global upstream development.
Our Six Key Themes for 2025:
Global Trends & Emerging Opportunities
Exploration & Production
Upstream Financing Strategies & Capital Flow
Policy, Governance & Market Stability
Transition Pathways & Decarbonisation
Innovations Transforming the Sector
Recently Added Speakers for 2025 include:
Liz Schwarze - Vice President, Global Exploration, Chevron
John Ardill - Vice President, Head of Global Exploration, ExxonMobil
Kevin McLachlan - Senior Vice President Exploration, TotalEnergies
Jim Keating - Chief Executing Officer, Oil and Gas Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador
Jennifer Medcalf - President and Partner, The REACH Group
Daniel Pratt - Vice President Upstream Research & Consulting, S&P Global
Shakwa Nyambe - Managing Partner, SNC Incorporated
Read All About It...Exclusive Content Available to Download
Don't forget that our Download Centre contains a library of invaluable industry reports.
We’re at the forefront of providing industry with exclusive thought leadership, designed to educate, inspire and turn the dial on global upstream development.
Welcome to our new members this month
Membership of the Frontier continues to grow and this month we are pleased to welcome the following Members...
Clementine Wallop, Director, Sub-Saharan Africa at Horizon Engage
Adriano Mongini, CEO at Azule Energy
Alister Forder, COO at Azule Energy
Riccardo Boris , Business Development Director at Azule Energy
Henrique Malungo, Executive Officer at Azule Energy
Yola Castro, Government Affairs Advisor at Azule Energy
Giovanni Aquilina, Exploration Director at Azule Energy
Lyoidah Kiconco, Head of Exploration & New Ventures at Uganda National Oil Company Limited (UNOC)
Philips Obita, General Manager, Upstream at Uganda National Oil Company Limited (UNOC)
Proscovia Nabbanja, CEO at Uganda National Oil Company Limited (UNOC)
Ronald Kaggwa, Exploration Geophysicist Specialist at Uganda National Oil Company Limited (UNOC)
Emilly Nakamya, Head Business Planning & Reporting at Uganda National Oil Company Limited (UNOC)
Emmanuelle Garinet, Vice President Exploration, Africa at TotalEnergies
John Nugent, Senior Manager, Strategy & Risk, NOJC Solutions at bp
Dr Bryan Ritchie, Vice President, Exploration at bp
Barnaby Roome, Exploration Manager, EMEA at bp
Alex Orbell, Business Development Lead at bp
Adriana Simpson, Vice President, Business Development bp
Mehdi Nasseri, Business Development Lead at bp
Mariama Cecile Ndao, Deputy Country Manager, Senegal at bp
Marie Robertson, Business Development at bp
Jean-Luc Mondon, Senior Geologist at PetroSeychelles
Patrick Joseph, CEO at PetroSeychelles
Peter Hooper, CCO at Shearwater GeoServices
Tanya Herwanger, Senior Vice President, Strategy & New Markets at Shearwater GeoServices
Irene Waage Basili, CEO at Shearwater GeoServices
Lawrence Jackson Director, Upstream Specialists, Africa/Middle East at S&P Global
Duncan Fisher, Senior Director, Upstream Specialists, EMEA at S&P Global
Richard Barke, South Atlantic Exploration Manager at ExxonMobil
Katrina Fisher, Country Manager & Managing Director, Angola at ExxonMobil
Claudia Napolitano, Vice President, Commercial at ExxonMobil
Helio Cumbi, Senior Government Relations Advisor at ExxonMobil
Nic Harker, Exploration Commerical Manager at ExxonMobil
Charles Ballantine, Vice President Business Development Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Central Asia at ExxonMobil
John O'Brien, Manager at Chevron
Philip Dimmock, Consultant at Oando Plc
Jim Duffy, CEO at Aquila Coastline Ventures
Richard Anderson, CEO at Aquila Coastline Ventures
Eric Pwadura, Manager Corporate Affairs GNPC - GHANA
Kwame Ntow Amoah , Chief Executive Officer GNPC - GHANA
Dates For Your Diary
Changing Face of Energy - Global Upstream: How is the landscape changing in an uncertain world?
📌 12th June 2025, LinkedIn Live, 2pm – 3pm
Exclusive Kuala Lumpur Members Reception
📌 17th June 2025, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Changing Face of Energy - World Energy Hotspots: Where to invest and what’s at stake?
📌 4th September 2025, LinkedIn Live, 2pm – 3pm
📌 14th – 15th October 2025, London, UK
Exclusive Houston Members Dinner
📌 19th November 2025, Houston, USA
Interested in Partnering with our Members' Events? Request Partnership Prospectus today!
We hope you enjoyed this edition of The Surge. If you’re not already a Member we hope this has given you an insight into the Frontier Energy Network, and shown you how we connect energy people around the world to make real progress happen.
Join us to find a global energy community!
The Frontier Team 💡
