Africa’s new producers struggle for financing

IOCs and Western lenders are reluctant to commit to new oil and gas projects in African frontier countries

Africa’s frontier oil and gas countries are crying foul as they struggle to raise money to exploit newly discovered resources due to IOCs’ selectiveness over where they commit funding despite dialling down their green ambitions and boosting capex on fossil fuels. Senegal, Namibia and Sierra Leone are some of the new entrants to the oil and gas sector that are facing financing difficulties, with IOCs focusing on share buybacks and paying high dividends as Western lenders and development banks shun fossil fuel investments. Senegal, which started pumping oil for the first time in 2024 from the Sangomar field—operated by Australia’s Woodside Energy—has yet to reach FID on the Yakaar-Teranga gas