By Sheriff Bojang Jr
The Italian energy giantʼs move into offshore Block A1 has renewed expectations that Africaʼs smallest mainland nation could one day join neighbouring Senegal as an oil producer.
For years, The Gambiaʻs oil story has been defined more by promise than by production. While neighbouring Senegal and Mauritania transformed the MSGBC Basin into one of the worldʼs most closely watched hydrocarbon frontiers, Gambian waters remained largely on the sidelines. Exploration campaigns came and went, wells were drilled, expectations rose and fell, and investors came and went. However, commercial hydrocarbons have remained elusive. Now, Eniʼs arrival is raising fresh hopes that this may finally change. The Italian energy giant has secured rights to explore offshore Block A1, a 1,300 sq km deepwater concession long regarded by industry insiders as one of the crown jewels of Gambian acreage. Located within the same geological province as Senegalʼs producing Sangomar field and several other major Atlantic Margin discoveries, the block has attracted interest for years due to its perceived geological potential.
Why Block A1 stands apart The excitement surrounding Block A1 is not new. Long before Eni entered the picture, some of the worldʼs largest energy firms had identified theacreage as one of the most attractive opportunities in Gambian waters. “It is one of my favourite blocks,” Cany Jobe, director general of The Gambiaʼs Petroleum Commission, tells The Africa Report. “It combines a proven regional petroleum system, extensive seismic coverage, and significant technical work accumulated over many years, including the extensive reprocessing and prospect maturation carried out by BP before its strategic pivot away from frontier exploration.”
That history matters because, unlike some frontier licences where operators begin with limited data, Block A1 arrives with years of geological analysis already completed, giving explorers a much clearer understanding of the opportunities and risks beneath the seabed. The Sangomar advantage Part of the attraction lies in the blockʼs proximity to Senegalʼs Sangomar f ield. According to industry experts, the fieldʼs success fundamentally altered perceptions of the MSGBC Basin, demonstrating that the region contains petroleum systems capable of generating and trapping hydrocarbons in commercial quantities. “The proximity to Sangomar is significant because it confirms the presence of a highly productive petroleum system within the same regional basin,” Jobe says. “Many of the same source rock intervals, regional structural trends and petroleum system elements that underpin Sangomar extend across the basin into Gambian waters.”
Industry sources argue that Block A1 may even have stronger geological continuity with Sangomar than some of the blocks previously explored by Australiaʼs FAR Limited. One reason is timing. When FAR entered The Gambia, A1 was not available for licensing. The company, therefore, focused on neighbouring acreage, which was considered the next-best option. Why Eni changes the equation Not every explorer commands the same level of confidence, and Eni is not just another company entering a frontier market. The company has one of the industryʼs strongest discovery records, with major finds ranging from Egyptʼs Zohr gas field to Côte dʼIvoireʼs Baleine development. Its combination of deepwater expertise and a proven ability to move quickly from discovery to production helps explain why many observers view its arrival as a significant vote of confidence. “Eniʼs entry is a significant endorsement of The Gambiaʼs offshore prospectivity,” says Jobe. “International operators have numerous opportunities competing for capital across the global upstream sector, and Eni has chosen to enter The Gambia at a time when deepwater acreage across the MSGBC Basin is attracting increasing attention.” ʻFor follow-on investors, farm-in partners and service companies, an Eni signature changes the conversation entirelyʼ Ayodele Oni, energy lawyer at Bloomfield Law in Nigeria, agrees, arguing that Eniʼs decision is significant because it reflects a willingness to commit substantial capital to testing the basinʼs potential. “When a supermajor like Eni, with deepwater pedigree from Mozambique to Côte dʼIvoire, commits to a frontier block, it signals that its subsurface teams see a credible petroleum system worth de-risking with real money,” he says.Oni notes that deepwater exploration at water depths of between 1,250 and 3,300 metres is an expensive undertaking, making the companyʼs commitment particularly noteworthy. “It can cost between $80m to well over $100m each, so this is not a speculative landholding play,” he says.
Equally important is Eniʼs development model. Unlike operators that can sit on discoveries for years while evaluating commercial options, Eni has developed a reputation for moving quickly from exploration to production. “Eni is known for fast-track development,” Jobe says. “These are not companies that sit on assets. When they find hydrocarbons, they move.” ʻOur economy today is largely dependent on agriculture and services, with virtually no industrial baseʼ For investors, policymakers and industry observers, that combination of exploration success, technical capability and execution speed lends considerable weight to the agreementʼs significance. “For follow-on investors, farm-in partners and service companies, an Eni signature changes the conversation entirely,” Oni says, arguing the companyʼs arrival helps restore credibility and momentum to a sector that lost one of its biggest backers when BP exited The Gambia in 2021. Beyond tourism? For The Gambia, the significance extends far beyond the energy sector. Tourism remains a major source of foreign exchange and employment, while remittances and agriculture continue to underpin much of the economy and support livelihoods throughout the country. A commercial oil discovery would add a potentially significant new source of revenue and export earnings, reshaping the countryʼs economic landscape. Given the countryʼs relatively small economy, even a modest discovery could have an outsised impact. “Our economy today is largely dependent on agriculture and services, with virtually no industrial base,” says development economist Ousman Gajigo. “An oil discovery would therefore mark an important step toward economic diversification.” He also points to The Gambiaʼs heavy reliance on imports, which has contributed to pressure on the dalasi and to rising imported inflation. “Oil production would generate net foreign exchange earnings through higher exports, which should ease depreciation pressure on the currency,” he says. But Gajigo cautions that discovery alone would not guarantee long-term development. “Whether an oil discovery translates into meaningful economic development depends on two things: how well concessions with international oil companies are negotiated, and how wisely the government invests the revenues earned from the sector.
