Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, leading Nigerian independent oil and gas company emerged the overall winner of the 2019 Pearl Awards, after winning in three award categories.
The company also won the Best Indigenous Exhibitor award at the just concluded 37th Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE)’s Annual International Conference and Exhibition held in Lagos.
At the PEARL Awards attended by regulators, leaders and key stakeholders in the capital market, Seplat emerged the “PEARL” back-to-back (2018 and 2019), which was a notable feat.
The award was presented to the company’s management by the chairman of the board of the Securities and Exchange Commission, (SEC), Olufemi Lijadu, and Ms. Mary Uduk, the Acting Director-General of SEC, supported by Dr. Farouk Umar, Chairman of the PEARL Awards Board.
Apart from winning the overall PEARL Awards for 2019, SEPLAT also clinched three other awards: Sectoral Awards for the Oil and Gas Segment, Highest Net Ratio Award; while its Chief Executive Officer, Austin Avuru emerging as the CEO of the Year.
Dr. Umar, in his address, said the awards were an avenue for encouraging the development of the capital market and praised the Federal Government for supporting the market.
President of Pearl Awards, Tayo Orekoya, speaking on the theme of the 2019 edition: “Celebrating Sustainable Leadership & Resilience” said the event was meant to recognize leaders who represent beacons of hope for the capital market.
Orekoya said that on the threshold of a quarter of a century celebration, PEARL awards have recognized and rewarded over 85 quoted Nigerian companies for outstanding operational and stock performance with 18 emerging as the overall highest awards winners of the stock market at different times.
For him, therefore, “the PEARL Awards remains the only awards in Nigeria that reward the outstanding performance of quoted companies in the Nigerian capital market based on verifiable facts and figures.
The Acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms. Uduk commended the PEARL Awards team for its legacy of driving excellence and competitiveness in the capital market.
She assured stakeholders of the continued support of the Apex regulator for efforts towards rewarding hard work, dedication, ingenuity, and excellence in the capital market.
On his part, Lijadu, Chairman of the Board of SEC Nigeria, commended Seplat for its strict adherence to good corporate governance ethos, while thanking PEARL Award for evolving for over two decades and remaining consistent in its drive to support the growth of the capital market.
The management of Seplat thanked the organizers of PEARL Awards and NAPE for the recognition and expressed the company’s commitment to global best practices in the oil and gas sector.