Representing the final frontier in oil and gas exploration, Africa continues to gain significant interest from regional and global energy players.
With significant discoveries poised to transform West Africa into a global hydrocarbon hub, trillions of cubic metres of natural gas discovered between East Africa and the Mediterranean gas fields in North Africa, and the recent hydrocarbon boom south of the continent, the continent is emerging as a world leader for oil and gas exploration.
West Africa
The western part of Africa is the largest contributor to resources on the continent over the past five years. Notable discoveries include Yakaar-Teranga in Senegal, the Orca gas discovery in Mauritania and the Beleine discovery in Côte d’Ivoire, three of which account for over 64% of the region’s resources as of 2017.
Southern Africa
Eni’s offshore discovery in Angola’s Block 15/06 in 2021 led to a potential of 200 to 250 million barrels of oil, while exploration in Namibia’s Kavango Basin by TotalEnergies, Shell and Qatar Energy proved to be a sizeable discovery in 2022. Also in 2021, South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy announced the discovery of shale pockets in the Karoo Basin, with estimates putting the resources at a potential 390 trillion cubic metres of gas.
North Africa
Egypt has accounted for the majority of discoveries in North Africa since 2017, with Eni’s activities leading to discoveries in the Nour North Sinai, Meleiha and South West Meleiha (SWM) concession areas, as well as the North Diametta East Delta offshore concession and SWM B-1X exploration prospect.
East Africa
With regional potential that could result in export capacity of up to 300,000 barrels of oil per day, approximately 0.3% of the current global total, East Africa is poised to experience an oil and gas boom in the coming years. An exploration campaign led by oil and gas super major, Shell, has led to the discovery of 23 trillion cubic metres of gas discovered in Tanzania.
08/10/2022
