By Lamin Sillah
Prologue
The duty of clarity
The bond between Senegal and The Gambia has carried centuries of shared struggle, culture, and geography. Yet in 2024 and 2025, whispers have unsettled this relationship: Is Senegal’s Sangomar field tapping into Gambian oil? Were The Gambia’s offshore blocks trimmed? Is sovereignty at risk?
In the absence of transparency, rumour fills the silence. But sovereign neighbours cannot govern by rumour. They must govern by truth.
This is not about accusation or denial. It is about discipline. It is about two nations proving to their citizens and the world that West Africa can handle questions of sovereignty with the highest standards of science, law, and morality.
FAR and The Gambia: A timeline of facts and finances
To understand today’s speculation; we must first establish what happened with FAR Ltd, the Australian oil company that once operated in Gambian waters.
2017 – The Gambia awarded FAR licences for Blocks A2 and A5, described by the company as “on trend and adjacent to the giant SNE [now Sangomar] discovery in Senegal”. At this stage, no signature bonus was publicly disclosed.
2018 – FAR signed a farm-out deal with Petronas (PC Gambia Ltd). Under this agreement, Petronas agreed to cover approximately US$45 million in exploration well costs and pay FAR an additional US$1.5 million for non-well expenses. The Gambia indirectly secured a drilling commitment worth nearly a hundred million dollars, even before a barrel was found.
Late 2021 – FAR drilled the Bambo-1 well in Block A2 using the Stena IceMax drillship, which cost tens of millions in offshore rig hire, logistics, and services.
21 December 2021 – FAR announced that no commercial hydrocarbons were discovered. Minor oil shows were present, but no viable reservoirs.
1 October 2019 – During a licence reset and reallocation with Petronas, FAR confirmed payment of a US$4.5 million signature bonus to the Gambian government. This remains one of the largest single petroleum licence payments ever disclosed in The Gambia’s history.
2022 – FAR confirmed in its Annual Report that it had relinquished A2 and A5 and had exited The Gambia. Its departure ended a five-year cycle of exploration.
Conclusion
FAR never produced oil from The Gambia. The state collected at least US$4.5 million in direct licence fees and benefited from tens of millions in third-party exploration spending, but no commercial production revenues ever materialised. Today’s speculation arises only from the proximity of FAR’s former blocks to Senegal’s Sangomar field — not from any past production.
What we know about sangomar and the boundary
Senegal’s Sangomar field, operated by Woodside (82%) and PETROSEN (18%), produced its first oil on 11 June 2024. In its first year alone, 16.9 million barrels were made, generating gross sales estimated at US$1.35 billion at an average price of US$80 per barrel.
The Senegal–Gambia maritime boundary has been legally defined since 1975, when a treaty was ratified. The line is recognised in international law and is not in dispute.
These facts are solid. They leave only one question unanswered: Does the reservoir cross the boundary?
What remains allegations?
Some Gambian commentators allege that A2 and A5 block outlines were amended in 2023, trimming Gambian acreage.
Others suggest that Sangomar’s producing reservoirs may extend into Gambian waters.
But here is the truth: no public technical evidence proves these claims. No shared seismic interpretations, well-to-well pressure tests, or independent audits have been released.
The Gambian government has denied accusations of “oil theft,” pointing out that no commercial discovery has yet been made in Gambian waters.
How mature nations resolve such questions
Responsible states do not quarrel in headlines when oilfields lie near international boundaries. They resolve matters through a process known as unitization — or, if the geology proves otherwise, through a joint closure communiqué.
This path, followed by Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), rests on five steps:
1. Exchange data, not accusations — seismic surveys, well logs, and reservoir models are shared under confidentiality.
2. Form a Joint Technical Commission (JTC) — bringing together regulators, national oil companies, and independent engineers.
3. Audit the truth — reservoir auditors test whether fluids and pressures are continuous across the line.
4. Two outcomes only:
If no straddle: issue a joint communiqué to close the matter.
If straddle: negotiate a unitisation Agreement to share revenues and responsibilities fairly.
5. Fail-safe: if cooperation fails, the matter can be referred to ITLOS or the International Court of Justice — but only after good-faith technical engagement.
A 90-Day roadmap for Senegal and The Gambia
Day 0–15: Publish the A2/A5 block coordinates, including any 2023 amendments. Post the 1975 maritime treaty online. Launch a Joint Technical Commission.
Day 16–60: Exchange seismic, well, and reservoir data. Commission an independent reservoir audit.
Day 61–90:
If no straddle: issue a joint communiqué and publish audit summary.
If straddle: sign a unitisation Term Sheet with interim escrow for boundary-adjacent revenues, followed by a full unitisation Agreement within six months.
This roadmap is realistic, transparent, and achievable.
The stakes — not speculation, but scale
Senegal’s Sangomar field has already shown its value: 16.9 million barrels in 2024, worth US$1.35 billion.
If, hypothetically, even 10–20% of this reservoir extended into Gambian waters, The Gambia’s gross entitlement could range from US$135–270 million annually.
The gap is staggering compared to The Gambia’s US$4.5 million licence fee from FAR in 2019. It shows why whispers matter and why evidence must settle them.
The Governments of the Republic of Senegal and the Republic of The Gambia, affirming their spirit of friendship, mutual respect, and commitment to truth, hereby announce:
1. A Joint Technical Commission (JTC) has been established to review geological and reservoir data concerning Senegal’s Sangomar field and The Gambia’s A2/A5 blocks.
2. Both Governments reaffirm that the 1975 maritime boundary remains valid and respected.
3. Independent reservoir auditors will determine whether producing reservoirs extend across the boundary.
4. If no continuity is found, both states will issue a final joint declaration closing the matter.
5. If continuity is confirmed, both states will negotiate a unitisation Agreement, ensuring fair and transparent sharing of resources.
6. A non-confidential audit summary will be published for citizens in both nations.
7. Pending the outcome, both Governments pledge to avoid inflammatory statements and to uphold diplomacy, science, and sovereignty.
This communiqué is not fiction. It is a template of what sovereign neighbours can achieve if they rise above suspicion and choose wisdom.
The Gambia and Senegal now stand before history. One path leads to endless whispers, uncertainty, and mistrust. The other leads to clarity, fairness, and dignity.
It is time to prove that Africa’s smallest nation and her neighbour can model the highest discipline of statecraft: truth before politics, science before rumour, and justice before pride.
