Building on prior discussions around accelerating frontier exploration through shared data and coordinated frameworks, this year's MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 conference and exhibition in Dakar is set to build on The Gambian NOC GNPC's calls for deeper regional coordination. With Senegal's Petrosen, The Gambia’s GNPC and Mauritania's SMH converging on similar basin-development strategies, the forum is set to serve as a key platform to assess whether a structured SMH-Petrosen-GNPC alliance could unlock basin-scale efficiency, improving subsurface de-risking and capital allocation.

Developments and Investment Outlook

Petrosen has strengthened its upstream profile following first oil at the Sangomar Field, which is sustaining output near 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) and has delivered over 36 million barrels to date. The asset anchors Senegal's production base while supporting fiscal stability and downstream integration efforts, including refinery optimization and domestic fuel balancing.

At the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) LNG development, Petrosen retains a 10% interest in Phase 1, which has reached approximately 2.7 million tons per annum (mtpa) capacity through bp-operated FLNG infrastructure. The project is now shifting toward optimization, with increasing focus on domestic gas allocation for power generation and industrial development across Senegal and Mauritania.

Beyond producing assets, Petrosen is advancing a $100 million onshore exploration program targeting inland extensions of the MSGBC basin. This strategy prioritizes seismic reprocessing and basin modeling to identify structural continuities between proven offshore systems and unexplored onshore fairways.

GNPC is repositioning its upstream portfolio following offshore license exits by prior operators across Blocks A2, A5, and A4. Despite this, the basin retains strong prospectivity, supported by 80% offshore seismic coverage and confirmed petroleum system indicators from prior exploration wells.

MSGBC Basin Alliance

An SMH-Petrosen-GNPC alliance could shift the MSGBC basin from fragmented licensing regimes toward a coordinated exploration system. Aggregating geological datasets, harmonizing interpretation workflows and aligning farm-in structures has the potential to reduce duplication and improve exploration efficiency across shared petroleum systems.

With less than 10% of the basin fully explored, combined seismic libraries materially reduce subsurface uncertainty, improve prospect ranking and lower dry-well risk, thereby enhancing capital efficiency for international exploration partners.

Technically, implementation would require integration of over 100,000 km² of seismic data, standardized digital formats and shared cloud-based interpretation platforms to ensure structural continuity across maritime boundaries. Unified velocity models and basin-wide geological frameworks would be essential to enable consistent prospect evaluation.

A coordinated licensing regime could replace fragmented national bid rounds with basin-wide acreage offerings, allowing investors to assess continuous geological fairways across Senegal, Mauritania and The Gambia.

Existing cross-border infrastructure, particularly the GTA project, already demonstrates the feasibility of integrated development models linking upstream resources to shared LNG export systems. This provides a commercial precedent for more structured basin-wide coordination.

As such, MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 stands to serve as the critical staging ground to operationalize these ambitions. By bringing together Petrosen, SMH and the GNPC, the forum offers a platform to transition from national success toward a unified, cross-border alliance.

Explore opportunities, foster partnerships and stay at the forefront of the MSGBC region’s oil, gas and power sector. Visit www.msgbcoilgaspower.com to secure your participation at the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 conference. To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.