KEY POINTS
- Senegal’s energy minister visited Abuja this week to strengthen oil, gas and refining cooperation with Nigeria.
- Senegal’s Sangomar oilfield is producing around 100,000 barrels per day, with a $100 million onshore exploration campaign now underway.
- Nigeria is targeting 2 million barrels per day in production and $30 billion in NNPC investments by 2030.
Birame Soulèye Diop, accompanied by representatives from national oil company Petrosen, sat down this week with Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and executives at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company. Both sides committed to deeper cooperation on refining, policy development, gas monetization and national oil company collaboration.
The African Energy Chamber welcomed the visit. Executive Chairman NJ Ayuk said the timing was right. “When countries like Senegal and Nigeria work together, sharing knowledge, building infrastructure, strengthening NOCs and improving policies, we create an environment where investment can thrive and where Africa can take control of its energy future,” Ayuk said.
Senegal’s momentum at the table
Senegal is no longer just an emerging producer. The Sangomar oilfield has stabilized at around 100,000 barrels per day, generating 36.1 million barrels in 2025 alone. The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim LNG project, which came online last year, exported 24 LNG cargoes and 1.6 million barrels of condensate between February 2025 and February 2026.
Petrosen has also launched a $100 million onshore exploration campaign targeting underexplored basins through seismic acquisition, basin modeling and exploratory drilling, with new crude discoveries targeted by late 2026. Senegal has paid its capital contribution to the Africa Energy Bank, positioning itself as an active participant in continental energy financing.
Nigeria’s scale, and what Senegal stands to gain
Nigeria brings something Senegal cannot replicate quickly: scale. Africa’s largest oil producer is targeting output of around 2 million barrels per day, supported by a 2025 licensing round covering 50 frontier blocks and one deepwater block designed to attract $10 billion over the next decade. The NNPC is chasing $30 billion in upstream investments by 2030.
Downstream, the Dangote Refinery is planning an expansion from 650,000 to 1.4 million barrels per day. In December 2025, 28 companies received permits to access flare gas, a move projected to unlock $2 billion in gas investments.
