By Tabora Bojang
The Gambia has issued licences to three companies to undertake oil and gas exploration, President Adama Barrow disclosed in his State of the Nation Address yesterday.
“The Gambia Petroleum sector continues to attract interest. Recently, the Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Mines granted licences to three companies to undertake exploration, development, and production activities in existing open blocks. This marks a significant milestone in reactivating upstream petroleum operations in The Gambia,” he said.
The president however failed to name the firms that were issued these licences. In 2017, the government issued a license to British Petroleum BP to explore Block A1 but the company has since returned the licence. Other blocks A2 and A5 were previously held by Far Limited who have since left.
The country’s oil prospects continue to generate hype and debate. Last year, former president Yahya Jammeh accused Senegal of stealing The Gambia’s oil. Senegal’s Sangomar fields are located near The Gambia’s maritime border. Jammeh claimed that Senegal has no oil reserves and that The Gambia holds some of the world’s largest oil deposits comparable to those of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. But President Barrow categorically denied those claims, describing them as unfounded and implausible. “They say The Gambia has oil and that I joined other governments to steal it. Even in a dream, such a thing makes no sense. If we had oil, with the vision I have for this country, The Gambia would be like Dubai by now,” Mr Barrow said in June 2025.
Leading Gambian-British lawyer Ousman M’bai has also raised the matter and demanded thorough investigation.
