{"id":1105,"date":"2025-06-30T11:29:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T11:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/?p=1105"},"modified":"2025-06-30T12:16:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T12:16:24","slug":"africas-oil-producing-club-could-soon-welcome-a-new-member-heres-who-might-be-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/africas-oil-producing-club-could-soon-welcome-a-new-member-heres-who-might-be-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa\u2019s oil-producing club could soon welcome a new member- here&#8217;s who might be next"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 class=\"article-headline \"><\/h1>\n<div class=\"article-author-wrapper authorsWithoutImages\">\n<div class=\"article-author\"><span class=\"author-item \"><a class=\"single-author-wrapper\" title=\"Chinedu Okafor\" href=\"https:\/\/africa.businessinsider.com\/author\/chinedu-okafor\"><span class=\"author-name\">Chinedu Okafor<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ring-detail-social-share standard-detailSocialShare\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"sponsoredText\"><\/div>\n<article>\n<div id=\"lead\" class=\"article-perex \">\n<p><strong>In 2025 alone, two African nations, Sierra Leone and Rwanda, seemed to have positioned themselves as potential entrants into the continent\u2019s oil-producing club, signaling a shift in their long-term economic strategies. The former recently found viabilty in this objective, following a 3D seismic survey.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery \">\n<div id=\"article-main-image\" class=\"image-container\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1107 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/7_Vk9kpTURBXy85MmU2NDY1OTc5NmZkNzliMGNiMzU0YjM4ZjU5YzE3OS5wbmeRlQLNAxbNAi_Cw94AAqEwBqExAA.avif\" alt=\"\" width=\"790\" height=\"559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/7_Vk9kpTURBXy85MmU2NDY1OTc5NmZkNzliMGNiMzU0YjM4ZjU5YzE3OS5wbmeRlQLNAxbNAi_Cw94AAqEwBqExAA.avif 790w, https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/7_Vk9kpTURBXy85MmU2NDY1OTc5NmZkNzliMGNiMzU0YjM4ZjU5YzE3OS5wbmeRlQLNAxbNAi_Cw94AAqEwBqExAA-300x212.avif 300w, https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/7_Vk9kpTURBXy85MmU2NDY1OTc5NmZkNzliMGNiMzU0YjM4ZjU5YzE3OS5wbmeRlQLNAxbNAi_Cw94AAqEwBqExAA-768x543.avif 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 790px) 100vw, 790px\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"imgMetaData\">\n<p><span class=\"caption\">Africa\u2019s oil-producing club could soon welcome a new member- here&#8217;s who might be next<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"article-content-body\" class=\"article-content \">\n<div class=\"article-body-text\">\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \"><\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-unordered_list \">\n<ul class=\"list\">\n<li>Sierra Leone and Rwanda are positioning themselves as new entrants into Africa&#8217;s oil-producing nations.<\/li>\n<li>Sierra Leone completed a major offshore 3D seismic survey to explore its oil potential and assess feasibility for licensing blocks.<\/li>\n<li>Estimates suggest Sierra Leone&#8217;s offshore region could contain up to 30 billion barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"recommendedArticles moreLikeThisRecommendation \" data-recommendations=\"3+\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-content-body\" class=\"article-content \">\n<div class=\"article-body-text\">\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>The goal of Sierra Leone&#8217;s first offshore 3D seismic survey in almost a decade is to explore the country&#8217;s offshore oil basin&#8217;s enormous potential.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>The six-week survey is a crucial component of initiatives to lower the risks involved in oil exploration and to provide more thorough data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>It was conducted in collaboration with the energy consulting firm GeoPartners.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>Later this year, the country will decide whether to move on with its next phase of oil and gas licensing based on the outcomes of this seismic study.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>&#8220;The reprocessing of that data is happening now with our multi-client partners, TGS, and we are hoping to get something to push to the market in October,&#8221; Foday Mansaray, director general at the Sierra Leone Petroleum Directorate said of a potential licensing launch date.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-image \">\n<div class=\"imageBlock aligment-center\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"imgMetaData\">\n<p><span class=\"caption\">Innoson Oil &amp; Gas, part of Nigeria\u2019s IVM Innoson Group, revealed last week the findings of a third-party evaluation conducted by Ryder Scott Co. on its concession offshore Sierra Leone. [Source: Hawilti]<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>As reported by\u00a0<a id=\"3675dec6-c88e-46d2-ae4b-909ac491984a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/sierra-leone-aims-be-west-africas-newest-oil-gas-exploration-frontier-2025-06-26\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-link-role-code=\"open_new_tab\">Reuters<\/a>, the director noted that up to 60 offshore blocks might be made available in the next phase, however, direct discussions will still be required for the most ultra-deep-water areas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>Although there were oil discoveries from earlier exploration by big corporations like Anadarko Petroleum and Lukoil, they were not commercially viable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>Recent estimates, however, indicate that the offshore region of Sierra Leone may contain up to 30 billion barrels of recoverable oil equivalent, including the extremely prospective Vega possibility, which is thought to contain 3 billion barrels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>Nestled between oil-rich neighbors like Senegal and the Ivory Coast on the Atlantic coast, Sierra Leone hopes that better survey technology and increased interest from international investors would finally enable it to fulfill its petroleum goals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>Some of its licensed data has been bought by oil majors such as Shell, Petrobras, Hess, and Murphy Oil in the last 18 months, according to Mansaray.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>&#8220;I firmly believe that Sierra Leone is on the cusp of something big and we are going to be one of the next big and successful stories,&#8221; he stated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-heading \">\n<h2 id=\"nav-ring-15\" class=\"heading-h2 replaced-h1\">Oil ambitions in Rwanda<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>Rwanda, meanwhile, has made notable progress in East Africa, concerning its objective of\u00a0<a id=\"e0ab61fc-7da6-435b-9cf1-a7aa6029ab5f\" href=\"https:\/\/africa.businessinsider.com\/local\/markets\/rwanda-set-to-become-africas-newest-oil-producing-nation-after-fresh-discovery\/p3q4efz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-link-role-code=\"open_new_tab\">becoming an oil-producing African country<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-image \">\n<div class=\"imageBlock aligment-center\">\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"image-holder\" data-fancybox=\"images-7c484992-5c81-43aa-a6e5-d315acbab745\" data-caption=\"Lake Kivu\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1106 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LHOk9kpTURBXy80ODYzYzkxNzMzZWZiZDdiNzUzOWRjYmViNTc2ZGIxYS5qcGeRlQLNArjNAU3Cw94AAqEwBqExAA.avif\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LHOk9kpTURBXy80ODYzYzkxNzMzZWZiZDdiNzUzOWRjYmViNTc2ZGIxYS5qcGeRlQLNArjNAU3Cw94AAqEwBqExAA.avif 696w, https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LHOk9kpTURBXy80ODYzYzkxNzMzZWZiZDdiNzUzOWRjYmViNTc2ZGIxYS5qcGeRlQLNArjNAU3Cw94AAqEwBqExAA-300x144.avif 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"imgMetaData\">\n<p><span class=\"caption\">Lake Kivu<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>The Rwandan government said earlier this year that it had discovered its first oil in Lake Kivu, which is located along the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>The discovery, which comprises 13 distinct reservoirs, represents a significant advancement in Rwanda&#8217;s efforts to diversify its economy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>Rwanda, which has traditionally relied on agriculture, tourism, and mineral exports, sees this development as a chance to diversify its economy and increase its energy independence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ringCommonDetail ringBlockType-paragraph \">\n<p>Although the country is still in the early phases of evaluation and development, the findings has piqued the attention and cautious optimism of investors and officials alike.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chinedu Okafor In 2025 alone, two African nations, Sierra Leone and Rwanda, seemed to 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href=\"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/category\/oil-and-gas\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Oil and Gas<\/a>","tag_info":"Oil and 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