Under Minister Sambu's leadership, Guinea-Bissau has made significant strides in expanding its oil and gas potential, notably strengthening partnerships with global players like Russia. In May 2024, Guinea-Bissau deepened its cooperation with Russia in the fields of oil exploration and bauxite mining, signing subsequent agreements to launch joint geological projects. This partnership reinforces the country’s efforts to diversify and enhance its resource base, and is set to play a pivotal role in accelerating Guinea-Bissau’s energy sector development, especially as the country explores opportunities for further exploration and production.

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Guinea-Bissau is actively advancing its exploration and production activities, with deepwater frontier areas and drilling campaigns underway to unlock unproven but highly sought-after reserves. In September 2024, Apus Energy spudded an exploration well offshore Guinea-Bissau – the Atum-1X probe – targeting a prospect that could hold up to 314 million barrels of recoverable oil. Located near the neighboring Sangomar discovery in Senegal, this marks the first offshore well to be drilled in the country in nearly two decades. This follows PetroNor E&P’s farm-out of interests in the Sinapa (Block 2) and Esperança (Blocks 4A and 5A) licenses to Apus.

These efforts complement regional initiatives within the MSGBC basin, where collaboration between neighboring countries is strengthening energy security and creating new investment opportunities. Notably, the proposed Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, which aims to connect gas-rich Nigeria to Morocco and potentially Europe, would pass through Guinea-Bissau, further integrating the country into regional energy infrastructure and enhancing its strategic importance. As Guinea-Bissau continues to enhance its energy infrastructure, it remains a key player in the broader MSGBC regional development, offering promising prospects for investors looking to engage with Africa’s burgeoning oil and gas markets.