Industry leaders, including TotalEnergies and Chevron, are advocating for faster permitting and improved seismic data to drive a potential exploration renaissance in Africa’s oil and gas sector.

Emmanuelle Garinet from TotalEnergies highlighted Namibia’s success in using seismic data to de-risk projects, while noting faster permitting in the Republic of Congo compared to delays in South Africa.

Chevron’s CEO, Gavin Lewis, emphasised the need for comprehensive subsurface datasets to enable AI-driven workflows.

Additionally, bp’s Bryan Ritchie pointed to new opportunities in Egypt, and overall, African oil and gas capital expenditure is projected to reach $54 billion by 2030.