Slipping off the radar
Slow-moving legislation, political risks and the weak oil price have damaged West Africa as an investment destination. Senegal may be the exception
FOR THE first time since Tullow Oil's discovery of the Jubilee field in Ghana in 2007, West Africa's upstream has a new frontier play to get excited about, in the shape of multiple oil and gas finds in and around Senegal. But these cannot mask an otherwise gloomy regional picture. West African countries offering costly deep-water exploration and production opportunities, combined with an uncertain investment environment, are struggling to compete for a limited global pot of energy project funding. "It is a difficult investment environment, given low oil prices and the fact that international oil companies have a global asset footprint," says Rolake Akinkugbe, head of energy coverage at inves
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
