Africa has emerged as the center of a global upstream acreage rush.
That’s what Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR) said in a statement sent to Rigzone on Wednesday, which noted that the continent has captured nearly half of new upstream country entries globally “as operators broaden exploration portfolios”.
EIR, which is a subsidiary of Enverus, highlighted in the statement that it had released a new analysis showing Africa had “emerged as an important focal point of global upstream expansion as companies rebuild exploration portfolios to replenish reserves and pursue future growth”. The company revealed that it had identified 187 country entries, or reentries, that were either completed or under consideration globally during the first half of 2025 and the first half of 2026, “with activity spanning a wide range of companies and geographies”.
According to EIR, Africa captured about 50 percent of these new upstream entries. That made it the leading region for current upstream expansion, the statement outlined.
EIR said in its statement that interest “has been heavily concentrated in West Africa, led by deepwater activity along the Atlantic Margin”. It added that North African markets “have drawn renewed interest through government efforts to attract international investment, including new bid rounds”.
“The acreage rush reflects a broader shift toward organic exploration,” EIR highlighted in its statement.
“Dwindling reserve life, subdued exploration spending over the past decade, and a shrinking pool of suitable acquisition targets are placing greater emphasis on finding new re
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EIR highlighted in the statement, however that “the latest wave of entries is best understood as a screening cycle rather than a drilling cycle, as companies rebuild exploration inventories while preserving capital flexibility”.
The company noted that large operators are increasingly using early-stage access agreements, including reconnaissance permits and memoranda of understanding, to evaluate broad acreage positions while limiting upfront commitments.
“These structures allow companies to screen at scale, high-grade their portfolios, and advance only the most material opportunities,” EIR said.
Jimmy Boulter, Senior Regional Manager of Sub-Saharan Africa at EIR, highlighted in the statement that “Africa has become the center of gravity for upstream portfolio expansion” but warned that “the real test of exploration appetite will come when large operators have to move from option-taking to capital allocation”.
“As today’s early-stage access agreements mature, the key markers will be how many convert into full exploration licenses, what drilling commitments those licenses carry, and how much acreage is ultimately recycled back into the market for other companies to pursue,” Boulter added.
In a release sent to Rigzone back in January looking at “high impact wells”, Rystad Energy said Africa would “continue to drive global drilling activity” this year.
“The upstream sector is set to carry strong momentum into 2026, with high-impact wildcat drilling activity expected to remain elevated following a solid 2025,” Rystad noted in that release.
The company highlighted in that release that, according to its research and analysis, the success rate for high-impact wildcat wells rose to 38 percent in 2025, from 23 percent in 2024, and total discovered volumes increased by 53 percent year on year to around 2.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
“Wells are designated as high-impact based on a variety of factors: the size of the potential re or emerging basins, and their significance to the operator,” Rystad noted in this release
“Such activity in 2026 is expected to drive exploration momentum higher in specific basins and countries, with 42 such wells identified globally,” it added.
“Africa is set to continue leading global activity, accounting for around 40 percent of planned high-impact exploration wells, driven largely along the Atlantic margin, with exploration expected to focus on the Orange Basin in Southern Africa and the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa, reinforcing the region’s role in global high-impact drilling,” it continued.
According to a chart included in this release, Africa is set to see 17 high impact wells this year, Asia is expected to drill eight, South America and Europe are set to see six wells each, the Middle East and North America are set to see two wells each, and Oceania is set to see one high impact well this year.
Aatisha Mahajan, Rystad Energy Head of Exploration, Oil & Gas Research, said in the statement, “what we are seeing in 2026 is a clear shift in where operators are willing to deploy capital”.
“Ultra-deepwater and frontier plays remain capital-intensive, but they also offer scale and material upside at a time when conventional opportunities are increasingly limited,” Mahajan added.
“Africa stands out because it still combines geological potential with the prospect of large, commercially meaningful discoveries, particularly for operators looking to secure long-life re
According to the Energy Institute’s (EI) latest statistical review of world energy, which was released earlier this year, Africa produced 7.062 million barrels of crude oil and condensate per day in 2025.
This figure represented a 4.4 percent year on year increase and 8.2 percent of total crude oil and condensate production last year, the review outlined. EI’s review showed that Africa’s crude oil and condensate production decreased by an annual average of 0.8 percent from 2015 to 2025.
Nigeria was shown to be the biggest crude oil and condensate producer in Africa in EI’s review, with 1.643 million barrels per day. This figure represented a 5.5 percent year on year increase and 1.9 percent of global output in 2025, the review revealed.
Africa produced 240.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2025, according to the review, which outlined that this represented a 0.4 percent year on year decrease and 5.7 percent of total natural gas output last year. From 2015 to 2025, Africa’s natural gas production increased by an annual average of 1.5 percent, the review showed.
Algeria was the biggest natural gas producer in Africa last year, with 98.0 billion cubic meters, the review highlighted. This figure marked a year on year decrease of 1.9 percent and 2.3 percent of global natural gas production in 2025, the review highlighted. From 2015 to 2025, Algeria’s natural gas output increased by an annual average of 1.9 percent, according to the review.
EI highlights in its review that its crude oil and condensate figures include crude oil, shale/tight oil, oil sands, and lease condensate or gas condensates that require further refining. The figures exclude liquid fuels from otherral gas, the review notes
EI’s review outlines that its natural gas figures exclude gas flared or recycled and include natural gas produced for gas-to-liquids transformation.
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
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Andreas Exarheas
Editor | Rigzone
