Other African nations are making significant strides in uncovering new crude oil reserves, while Nigeria has been noticeably absent from the latest discoveries.
Recent data from S&P Global reveals that Africa accounted for 35 percent of all newly discovered crude oil reserves in 2024, a sharp increase from just 7 percent the previous year. The fresh discoveries were made in the Orange Sub-basin near Namibia and the Cote d’Ivoire Basin.
S&P’s High Impact Wells 2025 report highlighted that approximately 8.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent were located in 2024. Of this, around 2.9 billion barrels were traced to the Cote d’Ivoire Basin and the Orange Sub-basin. However, the report also pointed out that 2024 saw the lowest volume of newly discovered oil reserves since the 1950s.
One of the most notable finds of the year was made by Portuguese energy company Galp, which discovered oil at the Mopane 1X site offshore Namibia. This marks the country’s sixth significant oil and gas discovery, reinforcing its growing reputation as a key emerging player in the global energy market. The field holds an estimated 1.4 billion barrels of recoverable crude. In addition, Shell identified two more wells in Namibia, named Mangetti 1X and Enigma 1X.
In Cote d’Ivoire, Italian oil firm Eni uncovered the Murene 1X well in the Calao region. This site is now recognized as the third-largest discovery in the Cote d’Ivoire Basin.
The 10 largest oil discoveries of 2024 accounted for nearly 60 percent of all newly found reserves. The report further indicated that the majority of these discoveries came from three key regions: the Orange Sub-basin in Southwest Africa, the Central Arabian Province, and the Guyana Basin.
Deepwater Drilling: High Risk, High Reward
An analysis of recent oil finds suggests that deepwater drilling is becoming the dominant approach in the industry. At the Mopane site, drilling extended to about 1,680 meters below the surface. Meanwhile, the Murene 1X well in Cote d’Ivoire reached a depth of 2,200 meters. The report also highlighted the growing role of ultra-deepwater drilling, citing the Venus 1X well, which was drilled to around 3,000 meters. The Bonga Oil Field in Nigeria’s Niger Delta is another well-known ultra-deepwater site.
The report emphasized that while deepwater drilling carries significant risks, it also presents major opportunities for large-scale oil discoveries.
Nigeria has been largely absent from recent breakthroughs in crude oil exploration. The lack of new discoveries has been attributed to a decline in investment and funding, which has stalled progress in the country’s oil sector. However, Shell’s planned $5 billion investment in the Bonga North Field suggests that Nigeria may soon return to the spotlight.
In addition, Chevron announced the discovery of an oil field at the Meji NW-1 well, located offshore in the Niger Delta Basin. According to the company, this site has the potential to produce up to 17,000 barrels per day.
