As the foundation for economic transformation across the MSGBC region, natural gas has emerged as the key driver of development, supporting grid integration, transmission corridors and industrialization. The theme of natural gas as the engine of regional transformation will underpin discussions at this year’s MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 conference and exhibition, where a high-level lineup of speakers and delegates will examine how downstream investment can turn resource development into broader economic growth.

Senegal’s approval of the GTA-Gandon pipeline segment in May this year illustrates this transition from upstream production to domestic energy infrastructure. The line will leverage natural gas from the prolific MSGBC basin and supply gas to power facilities including the planned 250-MW Gandon plant. By connecting offshore resources directly to generation capacity, the pipeline strengthens Senegal’s gas-to-power architecture while creating an energy corridor capable of supporting industrial activity outside Dakar.

The same logic is emerging across the regional electricity market. The West African Power Pool is introducing a day-ahead market with competitive scheduling and standardized transmission cost recovery, creating a framework for gas-fired generators to participate in cross-border electricity trading. Senegal and Mauritania can provide dependable generation into this market as domestic gas resources come online. Gas-fired capacity can stabilize systems with growing renewable penetration while transmission interconnections allow electricity to move toward demand centers across national borders.

Mauritania’s Banda and Tevet developments demonstrate the domestic power opportunity. Commercialization pathways allocate gas to the existing 180-MW Nouakchott dual-fuel plant and a planned 120-MW gas-fired facility. Meanwhile, Guinea-Conakry is taking the model directly to its mining economy, with the $300-million West Africa LNG Group terminal at Maksar being advanced alongside a proposed gas-fired power project targeting electricity-intensive bauxite and mining operations.

What’s more, cross-border gas infrastructure is expanding beyond national power systems. The Nigeria-Morocco African Atlantic Gas Pipeline recently received backing from ECOWAS member states, establishing the foundation for trans-national gas transportation along the Atlantic corridor.

The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) development has already demonstrated the viability of shared regional infrastructure. The Mauritania-Senegal project reached its targeted 2.7-million-ton annualized Phase 1 LNG production rate in January 2026, strengthening the case for integrated development. The next opportunity lies further downstream, where Senegal’s Yakaar-Teranga field – estimated at 25 trillion cubic feet – is being positioned around domestic industrialization, with natural gas providing feedstock for ammonia, urea, fertilizers and wider petrochemical manufacturing.

This strategy could reshape agricultural supply chains by increasing local fertilizer production, reducing import dependence and supporting food security across Senegal and the wider ECOWAS market. Gas-fired power can similarly anchor industrial zones by providing reliable, competitively priced electricity to manufacturing clusters. Gandon and other regional nodes could support cement, metallurgy, agro-processing and export-oriented industries while decentralizing economic activity.

As such, the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 conference and exhibition will bring these interconnected priorities into one regional conversation: how to convert gas reserves into electricity, connect national markets, build transmission corridors and establish the industrial infrastructure needed to capture more value locally.