Bamidele Famoofo
African oil and gas markets must act swiftly to turn exploration wins into production success if they hope to emulate the rapid energy transformation seen in Guyana.
This was the consensus from panelists speaking on the Exploring New Territories: Technology Innovation in African E&P panel at the Invest in African Energy Forum in Paris recently.
“My advice to Namibia is to capture the moment and do whatever you can to support companies, in terms of an enabling environment, to develop and produce. Great exploration success is nothing if it’s not produced,” said Gil Holzman, CEO of Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas.
Eco (Atlantic) has been active in Namibia since 2009 and currently holds four blocks in the Walvis Basin, along with Block 3B/4B in the Orange Basin, where it plans to drill a first exploration well by the end of this year or early 2026 with its joint venture partners. Last year, the company also acquired a 75 per cent operating stake in Block 1 in the Orange Basin.
Referencing Guyana’s path to production, where over 13 billion barrels have been discovered and output is expected to reach one million barrels per day by 2026, Holzman noted: “Proximity to the U.S. and the fact that Guyana didn’t have existing infrastructure opened the door for international companies to set the tone – in line with PSCs – to bring in technology and expertise.”
Drawing clear parallels between international success stories and emerging opportunities in Africa, Jean-Marc Kloss, Managing Director for West Africa at SLB, emphasized the role of global collaboration and talent mobility in accelerating project timelines.
“Fast-tracking development in Africa is possible,” he said. “From exploration to discovery to drilling, there is a lot of learning, technology and people that we have brought in from Guyana. We are in a global environment.”
He pointed to Brazil and Nigeria to underscore Africa’s untapped potential and the need for greater project sanctioning. “Brazil has 30 deepwater rigs – Nigeria has one. Brazil has 54 FPSOs – Nigeria has 14. There is huge potential, unbelievable resources in Africa,” Kloss said. “There has been no sanction of a deepwater project in years – the first one was the $5 billion [UTM FLNG facility] last year.”
Arthur Ename, Vice President, Global Accounts, Africa at NOV, emphasized the difference between drilling success and actual resource monetization.
“It’s one thing to drill – it’s another to produce the reserve that is underground. Eni did extremely well with [the Baleine project in Ivory Coast] by bringing infrastructure in-country that allowed them to start production very fast.”
Moderated by Justin Cochrane, Director of African Regional Research at S&P Global Commodity Insights, the panel made clear that while Africa has entered a promising new chapter in exploration, translating that promise into value will depend on swift regulatory decisions, infrastructure planning and technology transfer.
