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Woodside Energy Sends Executive Delegation to AEW 2026 as African Footprint Expands Beyond
Woodside Energy will send two senior representatives to African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 in Cape Town from October 12-16: Nancy Diakhate, Head of Country for Senegal, and Clive Jones, Vice President for Senegal. The delegation brings an operator with a proven delivery record on the continent, an expanding African exploration footprint and an active second-phase development under discussion to AEW's upstream and West Africa-focused sessions.
Woodside operates Senegal's Sangomar oil field with an 82% interest alongside Petrosen's 18%. The field produced 36 million barrels in 2025, exceeding initial expectations, and passed 50 million cumulative barrels by December. Phase 2 discussions with Petrosen are underway and could unlock an additional 250 million barrels through a subsea expansion, lifting production toward 150,000 barrels per day.
The company is also expanding its African presence beyond Senegal. In May 2026, Woodside signed an MoU with Angola's ANPG to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential of Blocks 25, 26 and 43 in the Namibe Basin, covering deepwater and ultra-deepwater acreage in one of the country's least explored offshore regions. The agreement establishes a study period for geological and geophysical data assessment and signals Woodside's interest in building a broader sub-Saharan African portfolio alongside its Sangomar operations.
Diakhate, a Senegalese national who held financial and operational leadership roles during Sangomar's development, was appointed Head of Country as the project transitions into full-scale production and local content delivery. Jones, who presented Woodside's 50-million-barrel milestone at the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power conference in Dakar, brings commercial and operational perspective across the company's Senegalese portfolio. Their participation at AEW gives delegates direct access to the leadership running one of the MSGBC basin's most significant producing assets.
“Woodside has delivered one of the most successful deepwater developments in recent African history, and having its Senegal team at AEW 2026 creates real engagement opportunities for investors and partners across the basin,” says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.
At AEW 2026, the Woodside delegation is expected to engage with operators, investors and governments on upstream development, Sangomar's next phase and the company's growing exploration interests across sub-Saharan Africa.