The African Atlantic Margin: (musings from the desk of a retired geologist)

This is part 3 of 4 on the Atlantic Margin.

West Africa accounts for a large proportion of recent global deep water discoveries. The
passive margin contains an enviable list of headline discoveries equaled by only those in
Guyana/ Suriname, Brazil, Mozambique and GOM. Some notable recent discoveries are:
1) Mauritania: Tortue Ahmeyim, Orca
2) Senegal: Yakaar Teranga, SNE
3) Cote D’Ivoire: Baleine
4) Ghana: Sankofa, Eban- Akoma, Afina
5) Nigeria: Owowo 2/3
6) Gabon: Leopard, Boudji
7) Angola: Agogo, Ndungu, Azul, Cameia
8) Namibia: Venus, Graff, La Rona, Jonker
9) S Africa: Brulpadda, Liuperd
Current major Players in West Africa are Total, ENI, Shell, Exxon, Chevron, BP , NNPC and
a handful of smaller operators.
West Africa’s largest producers (Nigeria and Angola) are currently facing declining crude
oil and condensate production with only a small number of new projects set to come
online in the next five years. IOCs have been more cautious than ever over their OG
investments in their legacy areas in West Africa … as some of the huge discoveries made
over the past decade have seen significant delays due to above ground issues (Niger
Delta) with no final investment decision (FID) in sight.
There is additional pressure on European majors to decarbonize and a lot of capital is
being diverted to more gas-intensive, lower-carbon projects in countries with better fiscal
terms such as Mauritania, Senegal and Mozambique. Some of these new frontiers are
poised to be major LNG producers as their gas discoveries come online over the next few
years. (Offshore 2021)
The lack of significant new IOC investments in W Africa outside of their existing core areas
opens up quite a lot of business opportunities for savvy smaller players who can deal with
the above ground issues in the region. Deepwater oil exploration will still be the main
draw in the region due to fresh impetus from SNE in MSGBC, Baleine in Tano and Venus/
Graff in the Orange basin.