Nigeria missing as Africa accounts for 35% of newly discovered oil in 2024

Other African nations are now leading the charge in newly discovered crude oil reserves, while Nigeria was notably absent from these recent findings.

According to S&P Global, Africa accounted for 35 percent of newly discovered crude oil reserves in 2024, a significant surge from 7 percent in 2023. Orange Sub-basin, off the coast of Namibia and the Cote d’Ivoire basin, are the location of the newly discovered reserves in Africa.

In the High Impact Wells 2025 report produced by S&P, it was noted that in 2024, about 8.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent were found. The report notes that the Cote D’Ivoire Basin and the Orange Sub-basin accounted for 2.9 billion of this figure. However, it was noted that 2024 has yielded the lowest net new discovered volumes since the 1950s.

One of the most notable oil discoveries of 2024 was made at the Mopane 1X, located offshore Namibia, by Portuguese oil and gas firm Galp. This marks Namibia’s sixth commercial oil and gas discovery, further solidifying its position as an emerging frontier in the global oil and gas landscape. This oil field has over 1.4 billion recoverable reserves of crude oil. Shell also discovered Mangetti 1X and Enigma 1X wells in Namibia.

In the Cote d’Ivoire basin, Eni discovered the Murene 1X well in the Calao region. The Murene 1X discovery ranks as the third-largest find in the Côte d’Ivoire Basin.

In 2024, the top 10 newly discovered oil reserves accounted for approximately 60% of the total new finds. According to the report, the Orange Sub-basin in Southwest Africa, the Central Arabian Province, and the Guyana Basin collectively contributed to more than half of the year’s discoveries.

Deepwater Explorations: High Risk, High Rewards

A review of the new finds shows that deepwater explorations are now the major focus of the global oil and gas industry. Drillers reached a water depth of approximately 1,680 meters at the Mopane well. The Murene 1X well in Côte d’Ivoire was drilled to a depth of 2,200 meters. According to the report, ultra-deepwater exploration will be a recurring theme, as seen in the Venus 1X well which has a water depth of about 3,000 meters. The Bonga Oil Field in the Niger Delta basin is another ultra-deepwater oil field.

According to the report, deepwater explorations, which were majorly high-risk explorations, had the potential for high rewards.

Nigeria has been mostly left out of the conversation of new oil reserves. A development that is down to a lack of funding and investments that has plagued the Nigerian oil sector in recent years. However, Shell’s planned $5 billion investment in the Bonga North Field suggests that numbers from Nigeria could begin to emerge in the coming years.

Also, Chevron announced the discovery of a new oil field in the Meji NW-1 well, located offshore of the Niger Delta Basin. According to the oil giant, the discovery has the potential for 17,000 barrels per day.

David Olujinmi

David Olujinmi is a financial journalist, with a knack for reporting and analysing the capital markets. He has experience in reporting the Nigerian and African financial scene. With a Bsc in Chemical Engineering from the Obafemi Awolowo University, he has a significant grasp of numbers that has aided his understanding of the financial context.