Africa Fortesa Expands Onshore Drilling as Senegal Builds Out Gas-to-Power
)
Independent producer Africa Fortesa has drilled the SA-7 well onshore Senegal and plans further wells aimed at gas output totaling 300 MW of additional power generation within two years. The campaign could expand an existing source of domestic gas as Senegal develops the infrastructure needed to move locally produced resources into its power system. The new wells place domestic gas and onshore exploration at the center of the conversation heading into MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026, taking place December 1–3 in Dakar.
Fortesa brings nearly three decades of onshore experience to the campaign, having begun work at the Gadiaga gas field in 1997 following a modest find by state-owned Petrosen, with the field supplying gas to domestic power producers since 2002. Through subsidiary Africa Onshore Drilling, the company operates its own rigs and keeps core oilfield services such as drilling and well logging in-house, hiring and training Senegalese staff from entry level upward. Since 2023, Fortesa has also opened new wells to Senegalese and other African partners on a per-well basis.
Fortesa's drilling also comes amid a broader push to revive Senegal's underexplored onshore acreage. Petrosen has committed at least $100 million to an onshore oil and gas exploration campaign in 2026, following the revocation of licenses from operators that failed to advance seismic or drilling work. Petrosen CEO Alioune Gueye has linked the campaign to Senegal's offshore exploration success and said the national oil company hopes to make a major onshore discovery by year-end. The investment adds new momentum to an onshore segment where Fortesa already has producing assets, drilling capacity and operating experience.
The campaigns come as Senegal, which joined Africa's oil producers in 2024, builds the infrastructure to transition its power sector to domestic gas. State utility Senelec is converting its 335 MW Bel Air plant to run on gas, with a new 366 MW plant planned, and on October 1, Minister of Energy and Petroleum El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf outlined plans by majority state-owned Réseau Gazier du Sénégal for roughly 340 km of pipelines linking domestic gas to power stations and industrial users. Minister Diouf emphasized that gas-to-power is the proactive response to the frequent power outages and rapidly rising electricity demand that have burdened the country in recent months.
Onshore gas offers a shorter path to Senegal’s grid, allowing companies to draw on wells near Dakar as well as existing pipelines. Africa Fortesa Chariman Rogers Beall is targeting a price of around $8 per thousand cubic feet (mcf), positioning onshore output as a lower-cost replacement for imported heavy fuel oil and LNG, which trades locally around $14 per mcf.
Fortesa's 300 MW target is roughly equal to the capacity of West African Energy's Cap des Biches plant, Senegal's first power project backed entirely by private Senegalese capital. Combined with offshore volumes, onshore production gives Senegal a second domestic supply stream for its power sector, with its wells, pipelines and drilling capacity all based in-country.
Gas monetization sits at the core of the MSGBC 2026 agenda, with the conference's technical program covering domestic monetization alongside subsurface interpretation and deepwater development. The forum’s CEO Regional Leadership Panel will also assess where the basin's next wave of gas investment is likely to emerge.
Explore opportunities, foster partnerships and stay at the forefront of the MSGBC region's oil, gas and power sectors. Visit www.MSGBCOilGasAndPower.com to secure your participation at the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 conference, December 1-3, Dakar. To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.