Sub-Saharan Africa upstream: 2020 in review

2020 was a brutal year for Sub-Saharan Africa. Investment was slashed by 40% and upstream value was down by 20% with pre-FID projects deferred and downgraded. Woodside’s Sangomar in Senegal was the only project sanctioned. Production fell by 5% as OPEC+ members agreed to cut production to stabilise the oil price. Exploration drilling was at the lowest level since the 1950’s with just one commercial discovery. M&A transactions were down on 2019 but Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon gained a Major as Chevron took over Noble Energy. Equatorial Guinea improved their fiscal terms while Nigeria and South Africa progressed draft petroleum bills. Our review of 2020 provides key statistics for the year in Sub-Saharan Africa, including investment trends, M&A, exploration, project sanctions and production.