Woodside Energy Joins African Energy Week (AEW) 2025 with Focus on Driving Senegal's Offshore Expansion
African Energy Week (AEW) 2025: Invest in African Energies is proud to announce the participation of Terry Gebhardt, Vice President of Exploration at Woodside Energy, as a featured speaker at this year's event in Cape Town. With over two decades of global exploration experience and a leadership role at one of the world's most active independent energy companies, Gebhardt brings a timely and valuable perspective to the continent's evolving upstream landscape – particularly as Woodside delivers major milestones offshore West Africa.
Woodside Energy's successful startup of the Sangomar Field Development Phase 1 in 2024 marked a transformative moment for Senegal's hydrocarbon sector. The company, in partnership with PETROSEN, brought the country's first offshore oil project online, establishing Senegal as a new oil-producing nation. This milestone not only affirms the resource potential of the MSGBC Basin, but also highlights Africa's ability to execute technically complex, deepwater projects with strong returns. As Gebhardt joins AEW 2025, attention turns to what's next. Phase 2 of the Sangomar development – currently under planning – aims to build on the momentum of Phase 1 by expanding production capacity, leveraging existing infrastructure and maximizing value creation.
A defining feature of Woodside's approach in Africa is its emphasis on local content and capacity building. In Senegal, the company has worked closely with PETROSEN and other stakeholders to embed skills development, supplier participation and knowledge transfer into every stage of the project lifecycle. These efforts signal Woodside's commitment not just to accelerating project delivery, but embedding local expertise across its African operations and building sustainable, inclusive energy ecosystems.
While Woodside continues to pursue high-impact opportunities in Africa, the company is also demonstrating strategic discipline. Its recent decision not to farm into PEL 87 in Namibia's Orange Basin reflects a measured, portfolio-based approach to exploration and capital deployment. At AEW 2025, Gebhardt is expected to share insights on how the company balances opportunity, risk and value across its African footprint.
'Woodside's success with the Sangomar project reflects Africa's readiness to execute large-scale, high-impact developments and signals a new era of upstream growth in the MSGBC Basin. Their leadership and commitment to local partnerships embody the kind of long-term investment Africa needs to unlock its full energy potential, and we look forward to welcoming them at AEW 2025,' says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.
With its strategic success in Senegal, continued engagement in West Africa's LNG narrative and commitment to high-impact, high-value exploration, Woodside Energy remains a key player in Africa's energy future. Gebhardt's participation at AEW 2025 reinforces that commitment and promises to add depth to discussions around investment, partnership and unlocking Africa's full energy potential.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.
AEW: Invest in African Energies:
AEW: Invest in African Energies is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.
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