Paper submitted to GESGB Conference (G-CON) 2026, by Emily Kay and Felicia Winter (TGS)
Introduction
The Mauritania-Senegal margin has experienced significant exploration success with the discovery of the world-class Greater Tortue-Ahmeyim (GTA), Sangomar and BirAllah fields in the last 10-11 years, establishing it as one of Africa’s most exciting hotspots for exploration and development.
Exploration drilling along the margin has mainly focused on the inboard Cenozoic salt-related plays (e.g. Chinguetti, Banda, Tiof, Tevet), and Upper Cretaceous to Paleogene clastic targets on the shelf (e.g. Aigrette, Pelican, Lamatin, Fregate wells). As exploration stepped out into the deepwater, the target focus shifted to Mid to Upper Cretaceous deepwater clastics (e.g. at GTA in 2015). Despite this major gas discovery and additional large discoveries at Orca and BirAllah, forming the combined BirAllah Gas Field project, the majority of the deepwater basin remains largely untested.
The Mauritanian margin contains vast amounts of remaining potential within both untested plays and undrilled structures in existing plays. These include Miocene salt-draped channels in the inboard salt basin, syn-rift plays inboard, Mid Cretaceous paleo-shelf and shelf-edge clastic and mixed clastic/carbonate plays, and Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous carbonates. Deepwater plays include Mid to Upper Cretaceous channel and fan systems often within mixed contourite-turbidite deposits.