Gulf of Guinea

Commentary

Host governments continue to open up access to the licencing rounds, but further work will be required to establish the basin internationally, such is the draw from the Niger Delta basin and other basins to the south.

Updated

January 25, 2024

Location

Description

The Gulf of Guinea formed at the culmination of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous tectonism that was characterised by both block and transform faulting superimposed across an extensive Palaeozoic basin during breakup of the African, North American, and South American palaeocontinents. Thus, the province has undergone a complex history, which we divide into pre-transform (late Proterozoic to Late Jurassic), syn-transform (Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous), and post transform (Late Cretaceous to Holocene) stages of basin development. These three stages are referred to as the pre-rift (or intracratonic), syn-rift (or rift), and post-rift (or drift) stages. The structural basins within the province are aligned generally east-west, with boundaries delimited by an east-west transform fault system and north-south structural arches.

Summary

The basin remains relatively unexplored, with the majority of the regional focus being on the Niger Delta basins. Nevertheless, along with the other West African rift basins, there remains significant prospectivity.