Sahara Group is a Nigerian energy group headquartered in Lagos whose operations span upstream oil and gas, midstream storage, downstream fuel distribution, power generation and infrastructure. The group dates its beginnings to 1996, when Sahara Energy Resource Limited was established to trade petroleum products.
From trading house to multi-sector group
The trading arm was moved from Lagos to Geneva in 1998, and a West African network followed: Accra in 2000, Abidjan in 2001, Senegal in 2002 and an Angola office in 2005. In 2003 the group built and commissioned one of the first storage depots in West Africa not operated by an international oil company. It expanded into Asia in 2009, becoming the first non-major company to set up a trading company in Singapore, and the same year its aviation fuel business became the first indigenous Nigerian marketer to hold International Air Transport Association certification.
Upstream oil and gas
- 2003: acquired a stake in an onshore marginal field in the Niger Delta.
- 2005: added deepwater assets OPL 284, OPL 286 and OPL 228.
- 2007: acquired OPL 274, later converted to OML 148.
- The upstream division describes a portfolio of eight oil and gas assets in African basins.
- August 2026: deployed the MT D Adesanya, a 380,000-barrel medium-range tanker, to OML 18 to increase crude evacuation capacity.
- July 2026: Asharami Energy reported six million man-hours worked without a lost-time injury.
Arahas, the group's oilfield services business, is led by managing director Folake Soetan, appointed in July 2026.
Power generation and distribution
Sahara entered the power sector in 2007 by taking an equity stake in Egbin Power Plc, which the group describes as the largest privately owned thermal power plant in Sub-Saharan Africa, and added a stake in First Independent Power Limited in 2013. Ikeja Electric, Egbin Power and First Independent Power are named among its Sahara Power Group entities. In August 2026 Sahara Power Enterprise Group began construction of a 12 MW independent power plant serving the Ogba undertaking of Ikeja Electric in Lagos.
Financing dispute and legal proceedings
Statements published by the group in August 2025 and again in May 2026 respond to reporting on financing arrangements involving its power businesses. Sahara states that the affected companies are neither in receivership nor managed by any external party and that they continue to operate in the normal course of business. The dispute is before the Nigerian courts: the group says the Federal High Court in Lagos restrained the lenders and their purported receiver/manager from acting against the businesses, and that the Court of Appeal dismissed the lenders' appeals on 13 April 2026, referring the matters back to the Federal High Court for accelerated hearing.
Recent activity and contact
Group announcements in 2026 include advocacy on climate finance for Africa at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2026, the appointment of Chidilim Menakaya as managing director in September 2026, and a statement noting that Senegal's President Faye had recognised the group's commitment to that country's energy security. Its Asharami M.A.D Equation awarded USD 50,000 to an energy access initiative in June 2026, and a USD 5,000 fellowship supports energy journalism across Africa. General enquiries go to [email protected], published on the group's contact page, which also lists [email protected] for Zambia.