Oil and Gas Activity and Opportunities Abound Across Africa Region.

The resurgence in exploration and production activities across the African continent is palpable, as the industry emerges from a prolonged period of underinvestment.

The focus remains predominantly on offshore and deepwater prospects, with established basins in Angola, Congo, Nigeria, and Egypt continuing to command the spotlight.

Onshore exploration, though long overlooked, has seen some promising new drilling and license awards, particularly in Angola’s Kwanza Basin.

The deal flow in the region is equally vibrant, with major transactions taking place in the Orange Basin, while opportunities remain abundant in the West Africa Transform Margin and East Africa.

Notable deals include the acquisition of Shell’s shallow and onshore portfolio in Nigeria by a consortium led by Renaissance, Perenco’s acquisition of ENI’s mature assets offshore Congo, and TotalEnergies’ expansion in the Orange Basin.

Drilling activity has also exhibited a gradual uptick, with a mix of exploration in deepwater and appraisal and development in shallow water and onshore.

While the late-life field development operators, such as Panoro, Perenco, and AOC, are capitalizing on their expertise, the supermajors are pushing the boundaries of frontier drilling, evidenced by the new deepwater discoveries in Namibia and Côte d’Ivoire.

The region is also witnessing the advent of new oil and gas developments, with projects like Sangomar in Senegal, the GTA LNG project in Mauritania, and Eni’s Congo FLNG venture coming online. In the mature basins, operators like Assala in Gabon and Perenco in Cameroon, Congo, and Gabon continue to extract maximum value from late-life assets.

Exploration activity across Africa remains focused offshore and predominantly in deepwater regions, while appraisal and development efforts are concentrated in mature basins in shallow water and onshore.

Although onshore exploration has been largely overlooked in recent years, there are signs of renewed interest, particularly in the Kwanza Basin in Angola where new drilling and license awards are taking place.

This diverse landscape of exploration and production (E&P) trends highlights the continued importance of Africa’s oil and gas industry, despite the challenges faced in the past few years.

Major Deals and Transactions Across Africa’s Established Basins.

The oil and gas industry in Africa is experiencing a resurgence of activity, with established basins in Angola, Congo, Nigeria, and Egypt taking center stage in terms of deal flow.

The Orange Basin remains a focal point for equity transactions, while significant gaps still exist in the West Africa Transform Margin and East Africa. Notable deals include Shell’s portfolio acquisition in Nigeria by the Renaissance JV, Perenco’s acquisition of ENI’s assets in Congo, and TotalEnergies’ expansion in the Orange Basin, including deals on the Venus Block and the 3B/4B blocks in South Africa.

Additionally, Vaalco’s acquisition of Svenska’s stake in the Baobab field in Côte d’Ivoire may trigger further deals in the region.

Drilling Activity and New Discoveries.

Drilling activity across Africa has been on a gradual uptick, with exploration efforts focused predominantly in deepwater regions, while appraisal and development work continues in shallow water and onshore areas.

The region has seen some notable new discoveries, particularly in Namibia and Côte d’Ivoire. In Namibia, Galp and TotalEnergies have made new deepwater finds at Mopane and Mangetti, respectively, adding to the growing potential in this emerging basin. Over in Côte d’Ivoire, Eni extended its string of successes with another giant discovery at the Calao prospect with the Murene 1X well.

However, the offshore East African region has yet to see any major wildcat successes, despite ongoing drilling efforts by companies like Sasol in the PT area and Invictus in Zimbabwe.

Overall, the gradual uptick in drilling activity across the continent signals a recovery in exploration, with established basins in West and Central Africa continuing to drive deal flow and new project developments.

New Developments and Late-Life Asset Management.

The oil and gas industry in Africa is experiencing a resurgence, with new projects coming online and established operators extracting value from late-life assets. In Senegal and Mauritania, major new developments are set to commence production, including the Sangomar project and the GTA LNG project. Meanwhile, in Congo, Eni is gearing up to produce 3 million metric tons per annum of LNG from its new FLNG projects.

In mature basins, companies like Assala in Gabon and Perenco in Cameroon, Congo, and Gabon are demonstrating their expertise in maximizing the value of late-life assets previously held by supermajors.

These operators are leveraging their deep understanding of these fields to extract the remaining hydrocarbons efficiently and cost-effectively. As the industry continues to evolve, the ability to manage and optimize mature assets will be a critical component of success for both established and emerging players in the African oil and gas sector.

Upcoming Exploration Opportunities Across Africa.

Across the African continent, the energy industry is buzzing with renewed exploration activity and high-impact drilling opportunities.

In Ghana, junior explorers like Heritage are seeking partners to target low-risk prospects in the prolific Tano Basin near the Jubilee field. Farther west, the MSGBC Basin hosts a number of exciting multi-billion barrel prospects, including Supernova in Guinea-Bissau and Petronor in Gambia, which are drawing keen interest from explorers.

In Egypt’s Herodotus Basin, oil majors ExxonMobil and Chevron have lined up significant drilling campaigns to test their acreage. Similarly, in South Africa’s Orange Basin, TotalEnergies is planning up to five wells to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential of the central and southern regions.

Across the border in Angola, ExxonMobil is set to drill the promising Namibe Basin, which could open up a new oil and gas frontier if successful.

Junior explorers are also gaining momentum, with Petrodel and Octant planning to drill large targets along the Pemba coast of Tanzania, Conjugate Energy preparing two wildcats in southern Uganda, and all eyes on Guinea-Bissau as Apus gears up to finally drill the long-awaited Atum prospect. With a resurgence of activity across the continent, high-impact exploration in Africa is firmly back on the industry’s.