Africa’s oil story: 140 years from Egypt to Namibia

By Eyo Nsima

Africa’s oil story began in Egypt in 1886.

Nearly 140 years later, the continent has become home to some of the world’s major oil-producing regions, with Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Angola and Egypt among its leading producers, while Senegal has joined the producing group and Namibia is emerging as a major new frontier.

The journey from one pioneering oil province to a continent-wide petroleum industry has been long, uneven and marked by successive waves of discovery.

1886: Egypt starts the journey

The beginning dates back to 1886, when an oil well was drilled at Jamsa on Egypt’s Red Sea coast.

Commercial production followed in 1910, putting Egypt at the forefront of Africa’s fledgling petroleum industry.

But the real oil revolution was still decades away.

The 1950s oil rush

The 1950s changed Africa’s oil map.

Intensive exploration produced major discoveries in Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Angola, Gabon and Congo, creating the foundations of Africa’s modern petroleum industry.

In Nigeria, the discovery of commercial quantities of crude at Oloibiri in 1956 marked a defining moment. Production began in 1958, opening the Niger Delta to large-scale petroleum development.

Libya’s major discoveries followed in 1959, while Algeria’s Hassi Messaoud became one of North Africa’s giant oil fields.

Across the Gulf of Guinea, exploration opened major petroleum provinces stretching from Cameroon through Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Congo to Angola.

The US Geological Survey identifies the West-Central Coastal Province as one of Africa’s major petroleum regions. More than 295 oil fields had been discovered there since 1954 by the time of its assessment.

The map expands

The oil industry spread rapidly over the next four decades.

Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan developed commercial petroleum industries.

Ghana moved from its early Saltpond production to the much larger Jubilee discovery in 2007.

Equatorial Guinea became a significant offshore producer, while Chad, Mauritania and Niger later joined the producing group.

But Africa’s oil map remained heavily concentrated. A relatively small number of countries accounted for most of the continent’s production.

A new generation of discoveries

The search for oil then moved into new territory.

Uganda discovered major resources around Lake Albert in 2006.

Kenya followed with the Ngamia-1 discovery in 2012.

These discoveries opened East Africa as a major petroleum frontier, although finding oil did not immediately translate into commercial production.

That remains one of the defining features of Africa’s oil industry: discovery is only the beginning.

Senegal breaks into the club

In 2024, Senegal became Africa’s newest crude-oil producer when the Sangomar field began production offshore.

The project, with an initial capacity of about 100,000 barrels per day, added a new producer to West Africa’s already important petroleum corridor.

Senegal’s entry also demonstrated that major oil developments continue to emerge even as the global energy industry moves towards lower-carbon sources.

Namibia raises the stakes

Now, attention is turning south.

Namibia’s Orange Basin has emerged as one of Africa’s hottest oil frontiers, following major discoveries including Venus and Mopane.

TotalEnergies estimates the Venus discovery at about 750 million barrels of oil equivalent, with planned plateau production of around 150,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The company is targeting first oil around 2030, subject to project development and approvals.

The Mopane discovery has added further momentum to Namibia’s emerging petroleum industry.

From Egypt to the next frontier

Africa’s oil journey can be summed up in a simple timeline:

1886 — Egypt: the journey begins.

1950s — North and West-Central Africa: the great oil expansion begins.

1970s–1990s — New producers: the industry spreads across the continent.

2000s — New frontiers: Chad, Mauritania, Ghana and Niger expand the producing map.

2010s — East Africa: Uganda and Kenya make major discoveries.

2024 — Senegal: a new producer joins the club.

2030 and beyond — Namibia: a potential new major oil province takes shape.

From Egypt’s first oil well to Namibia’s giant discoveries, Africa’s petroleum story has moved through three generations — discovery, expansion and frontier development.

The next test, however, is bigger than finding oil.

It is whether African countries can turn their petroleum resources into investment, production, revenues, energy security, industrialisation and jobs, while preparing for a global energy system that is steadily changing.

Africa’s oil story began 140 years ago. The next chapter is already taking shape.