Africa is emerging as the center of a global race for oil and gas exploration acreage as energy companies seek to replenish reserves and rebuild portfolios after years of subdued exploration spending, Enverus Intelligence Research strategists said in a report on Wednesday.
Enverus said that about half of the 187 country entries and reentries completed or under consideration globally between H1 2025 and H1 2026 were in Africa.
The surge is concentrated in West Africa, where deepwater opportunities along the Atlantic Margin are attracting renewed interest.
North Africa is also drawing companies as governments seek to increase international investment through new licensing rounds and other measures to open up acreage.
The activity marks a shift toward organic resource growth as companies face declining reserve life and a shrinking pool of attractive acquisition targets.
However, Enverus said that the increase in acreage positions shouldn't yet be viewed as evidence of an imminent drilling boom. Energy firms, instead, are using the current cycle to screen opportunities while limiting their financial exposure.
Large operators are increasingly securing early-stage access through reconnaissance permits, memorandums of understanding and similar arrangements that allow them to evaluate large areas before committing significant capital.
Companies can then narrow their portfolios and advance only the prospects with the strongest commercial potential.
Africa has become the center of gravity for upstream portfolio expansion, but the real test of exploration appetite will come when large operators have to move from option-taking to capital allocation, said Jimmy Boulter, senior regional manager of Sub-Saharan Africa at Enverus.
The next phase will depend on how many of those early-stage agreements are converted into full exploration licenses and the scale of drilling commitments attached to them, Boulter said.
The amount of acreage ultimately returned to the market will also provide a gauge of how companies are reassessing their portfolios.
Global and national oil companies are both participating in the expansion, helping to drive a broader wave of acreage acquisition across the continent.
The strategy reflects a more cautious approach to exploration spending. Enverus said that after years of relatively restrained investment, oil firms are seeking to replenish inventories without overextending capital, making early-stage acreage a relatively low-cost way to secure potential future growth.
Enverus said that means a rise in block awards may not translate into an equivalent increase in wells drilled in the near term.
Companies, instead, are likely to continue high-grading their positions as geological data improves and exploration prospects become clearer.