Woodside Energy, a global energy company, will participate as a Bronze Partner at African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies 2025, scheduled to take place from September 29 to October 3 in Cape Town. The partnership aligns with the company’s ongoing efforts to expand its upstream operations in West Africa, particularly following the successful launch of Phase 1 of the Sangomar Field Development, offshore Senegal.
Earlier this year, Woodside shipped the first cargo of Sangomar crude to Senegal’s national refinery under its Domestic Supply Obligation, marking a key step toward enhancing in-country value. The project also achieved a major safety milestone, recording over 30 million work hours without a serious injury, reflecting Woodside’s commitment to safe, sustainable operations and to supporting Senegal’s developing hydrocarbon sector.
AEW: Invest in African Energies serves as a premier platform that brings together project developers, financial institutions, technology providers, and policymakers to drive investment and innovation in Africa’s energy sector.
The $5 billion Phase 1 development, executed in partnership with Senegal’s national oil company Petrosen, achieved first oil last year—establishing Senegal as a new oil-producing nation. Production from the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit ramped up to more than 94% capacity in under nine weeks. Both water and gas injection systems are now fully operational, with reservoir performance exceeding projections. These early results have contributed to reserves additions of 16.2 million barrels of oil equivalent (proven) and 15.4 million barrels (proved-plus-probable), highlighting the field’s long-term production potential.
The FPSO, supplied by MODEC, is capable of processing 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 130 million cubic feet of gas per day, with storage for up to 1.3 million barrels of crude. Four injector-producer well pairs targeting the S400 reservoirs have outperformed expectations, helping mitigate downside risk. The water injection system, initiated in late 2024, is expected to support reserves maintenance through 2025.
Looking forward, Woodside Energy is evaluating future-phase development opportunities based on 12 to 24 months of production data. Phase 2 planning is already in motion, with the goal of expanding capacity and maximizing resource value. The company remains committed to enhancing local content in Senegal through workforce training, supplier engagement, and knowledge transfer initiatives embedded across the project lifecycle.
Additionally, Terry Gebhardt, Vice President of Exploration at Woodside Energy, will be a featured speaker at AEW 2025. With over 20 years of global exploration experience, Gebhardt will represent one of the world’s leading independent energy companies at Africa’s most influential energy gathering.
“Woodside Energy’s Sangomar development showcases Africa’s ability to deliver technically demanding deepwater projects with strong commercial returns,” said Tomás Gerbasio, Vice President of Commercial and Strategic Engagement at the African Energy Chamber. “Their success highlights the MSGBC Basin’s growing significance in shaping Africa’s upstream energy future.”
