Quidah is an online platform that connects investors with curated opportunities and expert insights on Africa’s emerging markets, while offering businesses promotional services, partnership facilitation, and market intelligence to attract capital and grow their operations.
Industries
Italian energy major Eni has entered Gambia's upstream oil and gas sector for the first time after securing an offshore exploration licence for the deepwater A1 block. This move expands Eni's footprint across one of Africa's fastest-growing energy regions, the MSGBC Basin where major discoveries in Senegal and Mauritania have boosted investor interest.
The company signed a petroleum exploration, development and production licence agreement with the Gambian government on June 5 for Block A1, a deepwater offshore acreage covering about 1,300 square kilometres. The agreement was signed by Gambia's Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Nani Juwara, and gives Eni rights to explore an area located in water depths ranging from 1,250 metres to 3,300 metres.
The A1 block was previously abandoned by operators including BP, with no commercial discoveries made so far. African Petroleum Corporation previously held the acreage before the Gambian government revoked the company's licence in 2017 over unmet contractual obligations, and BP later acquired rights but exited in 2021 without drilling an exploration well.
Gambia hopes Eni's entry will help determine whether its offshore waters contain commercially viable oil and gas reserves after years of unsuccessful attempts to advance exploration activities in the block. Officials have stressed that the agreement should not be interpreted as a discovery announcement but as a fresh attempt to assess offshore petroleum potential.
Cany Jobe, director-general of the Gambia Petroleum Commission, described the signing as the beginning of a new phase in assessing the country's offshore petroleum potential. The deal marks Eni's first entry into Gambia and gives the country a new opportunity to evaluate its offshore petroleum potential following BP's departure.
Eni's arrival comes as the wider MSGBC Basin continues to attract growing attention from global energy companies. The basin, which spans Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, has emerged as one of Africa's most promising offshore petroleum regions following major discoveries and project developments in recent years.
Neighbouring Senegal began oil production from the Sangomar field in June 2024, becoming one of Africa's newest oil-producing nations. Meanwhile, the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project on the maritime border between Senegal and Mauritania exported its first liquefied natural gas cargo in 2025, positioning both countries among the continent's emerging gas exporters.
The Italian company remains one of the continent's largest foreign energy investors, with operations across North, West and Central Africa. Eni reported hydrocarbon production of about 1.73 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025 and has been responsible for significant discoveries including Egypt's Zohr gas field and Ivory Coast's Baleine field.
Despite the optimism surrounding the agreement, commercial production remains years away if hydrocarbons are found at all. Eni must first conduct exploration studies and evaluate drilling prospects before determining whether the block contains commercially viable oil or gas resources, as deepwater exploration remains one of the most technically challenging and expensive areas of the energy industry.
