Guinea-Conakry, long recognized as one of the world’s largest exporters of bauxite, is now looking beneath its soil and its seas for a new kind of wealth. Under the guidance of its national oil company, SONAP (Société Nationale des Pétroles de Guinée), the West African nation is positioning itself as the region’s next oil and gas frontier, a move that could reshape its economy, society, and place in the regional energy landscape.
In decades, Guinea’s economy has been defined by mining. The country exported nearly 100 million tons of bauxite in the first half of 2025, feeding the global aluminum industry. Now, with early signs of petroleum potential along the MSGBC basin, which stretches across Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea-Conakry, the nation is turning toward hydrocarbons.
Neighboring countries offer a glimpse of what’s possible: Senegal began oil production in 2024 and Mauritania joined the region’s first cross-border gas project the same year. The basin has become a new axis of energy development in West Africa, one with significant geopolitical implications.
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