Gambiaj.com – (Dakar, Senegal) – Senegal has signed a memorandum of understanding with Italian energy giant Eni to carry out preliminary studies and evaluate the oil and gas potential of five offshore blocks, as the West African nation pushes to deepen exploration even as it rides a wave of new hydrocarbon production.
The agreement, announced Tuesday by Senegal’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, was signed on the sidelines of Gastech 2026 and covers blocks SN01M, SN02M, SN03M, SN07M and SN40M.
Under the terms of the protocol, Eni will finance and carry out a technical study and analysis program aimed at deepening geological and geophysical understanding of the five blocks. The work will focus on analyzing available 2D and 3D seismic data, along with existing well data, to assess the oil and gas prospects across the areas concerned.
The agreement also provides for technical exchanges, specialized workshops and knowledge-transfer initiatives, with state oil company PETROSEN serving as technical partner.
Building on Sangomar and GTA momentum
The deal comes as Senegal marks a new milestone in the exploitation of its hydrocarbon resources, with both the Sangomar oil field and the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas project — developed jointly with Mauritania — now in production.
In August 2026 alone, three cargoes of crude oil from Sangomar were exported, totaling 2.97 million barrels. Over the same period, three cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from GTA were shipped out, amounting to 0.49 million cubic meters, according to a production report from the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum reviewed by APA.
Sangomar, Senegal’s first offshore oil project, began production in June 2024. By 2025, national crude output from the field had reached 36.1 million barrels, surpassing initial projections of 30.53 million barrels.
GTA, for its part, began LNG production in February 2025. By 31 October 2025, the project had produced more than 2.3 million standard cubic metres of LNG, of which 2.18 million cubic metres had been sold through thirteen cargo shipments, APA reported.
“Putting exploration back at the heart of our strategy”
Energy and Petroleum Minister El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf said the new agreement with Eni reflected Senegal’s determination to reinvigorate exploration efforts.
“This signature reflects our determination to put exploration back at the heart of our oil strategy,” Diouf said.
The minister added that the partnership was expected to improve knowledge, promotion and development of Senegal’s sedimentary basin, while strengthening PETROSEN’s role in the management and development of the country’s oil and gas resources.
No guarantee of future contracts
Authorities were careful to stress the limits of the agreement. The protocol represents only a phase of studies and discussions, officials said, and does not constitute a petroleum contract, nor does it grant any exploration or exploitation license. It also does not confer any automatic right to a future oil contract.
Any subsequent steps arising from the studies will be subject to the procedures and approvals set out under Senegalese law and regulation.
The agreement underscores a broader trend across West Africa’s emerging hydrocarbon frontier, where nations that have moved into production — like Senegal with Sangomar and GTA — are simultaneously working to attract fresh exploration investment to sustain output over the longer term.
Source: Reporting based on Ministry of Energy and Petroleum (Senegal) statement and APA data.
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