‘Monsieur Afrique’ says gas is the big frontier exploration
Panoro Energy’s senior advisor, Tim O’Hanlon, is upbeat on Gulf of Guinea upstream opportunities but highlights gas and LNG as next big growth story
Gas and LNG are set for a boom across Africa after previously taking a backseat to oil E&P activity, with the growth opportunities not just confined to the traditional east Africa spots, said Panoro Energy Senior Advisor Tim O’Hanlon in an exclusive interview with Petroleum Economist. Known as ‘Monsieur Afrique’ for his multi-decade stint in the region, largely as the face of independent Tullow Oil, O’Hanlon has been supporting Panoro’s infrastructure-led exploration and appraisal offshore Gabon, leveraging existing infrastructure to accelerate development of low-cost barrels, and he highlights the whole Gulf of Guinea region as providing further opportunities despite its maturity. Last
Also in this section
9 March 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent
9 March 2026
Energy sanctions are becoming an increasingly prominent tool of US foreign policy, with the country’s growth in oil and gas production allowing it to impose pressure on rivals without jeopardising its own energy security or that of its allies, argues Matthew McManus, a visiting fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics
6 March 2026
The March 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
6 March 2026
After Europe’s rapid buildout of floating LNG import capacity, Exmar CEO Carl-Antoine Saverys says future growth in floating gas infrastructure will increasingly be driven by developing markets as lower prices, rising energy demand and the need to replace coal unlock new opportunities for unconventional and tailor-made solutions






