- Eighty percent combined gains over the last 12 months.
- Six-month relative price strength above 90%.
- A 50-day moving average comfortably outstripping the 200-day average.
We might be talking about a hot sector like data centre suppliers or hyperscalers. But we’re not.
We’re talking about a basket of African oil and gas companies, a historically overlooked and under-allocated cohort.
Last week Ed Croft outlined the 20 UK listings with the clearest, strongest upward momentum right now. Five of them were Africa-focused oil and gas companies - lesser-known explorers and producers (E&Ps) that specialise in finding new assets or reviving old ones.
Trump, Hormuz, the global fuel crisis.. You know how these companies got here. But where they go next is the really interesting bit. Are this burgeoning quintet built to keep winning? And will this trend tail off when (or if) the Strait finally reopens?
Let’s dig into each of these themes in detail, starting with the companies.
The five companies on Ed’s list
Name (Ticker) | StockRank | R² (trend clarity) | P/E | 1-Year Price Gain % | Mkt Cap £m |
Seplat Energy (LON:SEPL) | 95 | 0.97 | 20.6 | 175% | 3,470 |
Capricorn Energy (LON:CNE) | 97 | 0.91 | 4.4 | 41% | 235 |
Pharos Energy (LON:PHAR) | 93 | 0.88 | 11.5 | 32% | 116 |
Afentra (LON:AET) | 65 | 0.84 | 3.1 | 67% | 167.6 |
Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) | 74 | 0.82 | 2.6 | 15% | 244.1 |
As you can see from the market cap, this isn’t a homogenous index: in fact, the quality rank varies from 83 to 13.
What they all have in common is staggering momentum. The group’s 12-months returns are practically double the UK-listed energy sector as a whole (taking the FTSE as a benchmark).
But which are demonstrating the potential for long-term performance, beyond the current crisis in Iran? Here's what to know.
Seplat Energy (LON:SEPL)
Quality Rank 80 | Value Rank 54 | Momentum Rank 98 |
This Nigeria-focused E&P is current member of the NAPS portfolio thanks to its amazing 2025, which saw revenues rise by 144%..
An aggressive acquisition programme is at the heart of the growth story. Seplat acquires divested assets from oil and gas majors and improves their efficiency; the centrepiece is a near-$1.3 billion acquisition of ExxonMobil's onshore and shallow water business, completed in late 2024.
Even after this acquisition, the company reported a 275% increase in net cash and a 25% reduction in net debt in FY25. However readers may…
