Paper submitted to EAGE Annual 2026
Summary
Deepwater Benin, situated within the Dahomey Embayment presents a high-potential hydrocarbon exploration frontier. The Dahomey Embayment, part of the West Africa Transform Margin (WATM), encompasses the Keta basin across eastern Ghana, Togo, Benin, and western Nigeria (Figure 1). Extending from onshore to deepwater, it has seen minor hydrocarbon discoveries on the shelf and slope. These discoveries confirm the presence of active petroleum systems within the margin. However, its deepwater environment remains largely unexplored, presenting significant frontier opportunities for future exploration. Two distinct petroleum systems characterize the Dahomey Embayment. The first comprises Devonian to Neocomian source rocks that generate hydrocarbons to charge Devonian and Cretaceous reservoirs, primarily onshore and across the shelf. These include Turonian, Cenomanian and Albian reservoirs in fields such as Seme, Ogo, and Aje, charged by Neocomian source. The second system involves Lower Cretaceous Albian and Cenomanian source rocks, which charge hydrocarbons to Cretaceous reservoirs on the slope and deepwater settings. Proven by discoveries like Hihon-1 and Fifa-1, these source rocks exhibit sufficient maturity and are analogous to productive sources in the Tano basin. The proven maturity of Cretaceous source rocks in deepwater Benin elevates this region as a premier exploration hotspot, underpinned by extensive channel and fan systems that promise substantial hydrocarbon potential. The thick sedimentary sequences observed on seismic in deepwater Benin, mitigates concerns about source rock immaturity in this setting.