Senegal reclaims Cayar Offshore Shallow block from Nigeria’s Oranto Petroleum

The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum of  Senegal has formally withdrawn the licence for the Cayar Offshore Shallow (COS) block held by Nigerian oil firm Oranto Petroleum. The State of Senegal has officially taken control of the block, the African Energy Chamber (AEC) said in a press statement on January 13.

The move followed repeated formal requests from the Minister of Energy, Birame Soulèye Diop, asking the licence holder to provide adequate financial guarantees to support the agreed work programme under the COS contract. As these guarantees were not provided within the required timeframe, the State exercised its rights under Senegal’s relevant petroleum legislation and contractual framework.

According to the ministry, the licence withdrawal was based on a detailed legal, technical and regulatory review carried out by the competent authorities. This assessment examined compliance with contractual obligations, including financial capacity, execution of the work programme and respect for agreed timelines. Under Senegal’s upstream governance rules, the failure to provide financial guarantees constituted sufficient grounds for the licence to be reverted to the State.

The the decision underlines Senegal’s firm commitment to contractual discipline, regulatory enforcement and the responsible management of hydrocarbon resources, the AEC said in the statement. Financial guarantees are viewed as essential to ensure licence holders can carry out exploration and appraisal work efficiently and within the allocated timeframes. The Senegalese government considers these requirements crucial to protecting national interests, minimising delays in resource development and sustaining investor confidence.

Oranto Petroleum is a privately owned Nigerian oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) company. It operates across multiple countries in Africa, focusing on early exploration and technical work, often bringing in partners for drilling and development phases.

The COS block was awarded to Oranto in 2008, but the company has not carried out any drilling and has only disbursed minimal amounts for exploration over the years. According to industry sources, Oranto struggled to find suitable partners willing to co-invest and progress the development plan for the block.

The COS block lies north of the Dakar peninsula and forms part of Senegal’s shallow-water exploration portfolio. It contains 13 identified leads and is considered oil-rich, with potential individual traps holding several hundred million barrels of oil in place. Beyond this, the area has long been regarded as underexplored compared with deeper offshore plays, offering the State flexibility to reassess its prospectivity and decide whether to re-license the block or include it in future licensing rounds.

“This decision should not be interpreted as a signal of reduced openness to private-sector participation,” the AEC said. “Senegal continues to welcome international and indigenous oil and gas companies that demonstrate the technical expertise, financial strength and long-term commitment required to develop the country’s resources in line with national objectives and international best practices.”