The Senegalese government has revoked the Cayar Offshore Shallow exploration licence held by Atlas Oranto Petroleum after determining that the company failed to meet key financial and contractual obligations. Authorities said the licence holder did not provide the required bank guarantees and carried out only minimal exploration work since the block was awarded in 2008, despite receiving multiple extensions.
The offshore block, which covers about 3,600 square kilometres north of the Dakar peninsula, is regarded as oil-prone but remains underexplored. Seismic surveys identified several prospective leads, yet no exploration wells were drilled throughout the licence period.
Under the supervision of the Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Birame Souleye Diop, the ministry formally withdrew the licence in September 2025. The decision cited Atlas Oranto’s repeated failure to comply with financial commitments and advance exploration activities. Industry accounts referenced in early 2026 confirmed that the block saw little meaningful seismic or drilling work during the tenure of the licence.
By reclaiming control of the acreage, Senegal signalled a tougher regulatory stance under President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s administration. Officials framed the move as part of a broader effort to enforce compliance and apply stricter screening standards to petroleum rights holders, ensuring that licences translate into tangible investment and activity rather than being held for speculative purposes.
Senegal’s action places it among a growing number of African producers reassessing legacy oil and gas contracts signed during earlier exploration cycles. Across the continent, governments are facing mounting pressure to ensure that petroleum rights lead to drilling, development, and production, rather than long-term optionality with limited economic benefit.
The decision has also renewed scrutiny of Atlas Oranto’s wider regional operations. In Liberia, the company took a markedly different path in 2025, when the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority signed four production-sharing contracts with Atlas Oranto Petroleum International Ltd. covering offshore Blocks LB-15, LB-16, LB-22 and LB-24 in the Liberian Basin.
Those agreements reportedly included a signature bonus of between $12 million and $15 million, alongside proposed investments exceeding $200 million per block. Liberian authorities described the deals as an attempt to revive a petroleum sector that has seen little exploration activity for more than a decade.
However, the Liberian contracts quickly attracted criticism from lawmakers and civil society groups. Concerns were raised over transparency, financial capacity, environmental risk, and the structuring of signature bonuses into instalment-based payments, which critics argued could weaken enforcement and reduce incentives for early-stage exploration in high-risk offshore settings.
Senegalese officials said Atlas Oranto’s failure to provide guarantees or meaningfully advance exploration was sufficient grounds for licence revocation, underscoring a governance approach that prioritises delivery and accountability over long-term speculative holding of petroleum assets.
