***Cany Jobe wins Leading Woman in African Energy Award
By AJERAP Correspondent
The Gambia’s petroleum sector made a strong impression at the recently concluded Africa Energies Summit 2026 held in London from May 11 to 14, 2026, where the country showcased its upstream potential, engaged prospective investors and industry partners, and earned continental recognition for pioneering leadership in Africa’s energy sector.
The Gambian delegation was led by Nani Juwara, Honourable Minister for Petroleum, Energy and Mines, and included Permanent Secretary Abdoulie Jallow; Director General of the Petroleum Commission, Engr. Cany Jobe; Deputy Managing Director of the Gambia National Petroleum Corporation, Muhammed Jawara; Director of Petroleum at the Ministry, Sheick Omar Bittaye; and Data Officer of the Petroleum Commission, Siddy Mendy.
The Summit brought together more than 800 delegates from international oil companies, governments, regulators, national oil companies, geophysical service providers, legal and advisory firms, investors and other stakeholders across Africa’s energy industry.
Exhibition
Throughout the event, The Gambia maintained a well-managed exhibition booth showcasing the country’s petroleum potential within the MSGBC Basin.
The booth highlighted The Gambia’s strategic location, improving data coverage, open exploration opportunities and commitment to a transparent, rules-based investment environment.
The exhibition attracted interest from explorers, geophysical service providers, data companies, advisory firms and government institutions. Discussions focused on exploration opportunities, data enhancement, reconnaissance activity, petroleum systems analysis, data marketing and future technical collaboration.
As part of the Summit programme, Permanent Secretary Abdoulie Jallow delivered The Gambia’s country showcase under the theme, “The Gambia: Unlocking Exploration Potential and Positioning for First Investment.”
The presentation positioned The Gambia as a promising offshore frontier within the MSGBC Basin and reaffirmed government’s commitment to a transparent, stable and investor-friendly petroleum sector.
It highlighted improving geological confidence, stronger regulatory oversight, clearer investment frameworks and opportunities across upstream exploration, petroleum storage, bunkering, LPG infrastructure, downstream logistics, power and regional supply services.
Panel Discussions
Similarly, Engr. Cany Jobe participated in two high-level panel discussions during the Summit.
In the panel titled “West Africa and MSGBC: Country Strategies, Basin Data and Commercial Pathways,” she appeared alongside Samuel Essoh of PETROCI, Fabian Lai of NOCAL Liberia, Erling Frantzen of Viridien, and Johnny Chigbo of TGS.
Engr. Jobe described The Gambia as an emerging opportunity with growing institutional structure rather than merely a frontier prospect.
She highlighted the country’s dedicated regulator, improving institutional framework, competitive model petroleum agreement and expanding technical database.
She noted that modern seismic coverage, regional integration studies and post-well analysis have helped shift investor engagement from broad basin interest to more focused technical evaluation.
In a second panel titled “Building Africa’s Stability, Credibility and Trust: The Real Currency of Investment,” Engr. Jobe joined Joanna Kuenssberg of Shell International BV, Valerie Marcel of New Producers for Sustainable Energy, Huw Charles of The Risk Advisory Group, Akshai Fofaria of Pinsent Masons, and Armando Zamora of New Producers for Sustainable Energy.
She stressed the importance of predictable frameworks, credible state participation and investment terms that protect national value without discouraging exploration activity. According to her, regulatory credibility in frontier jurisdictions is built through discipline, consistency and alignment between policy, licensing and implementation.
Strategic Meetings
On the sidelines of the Summit, the Gambian delegation also held meetings with international oil companies, geophysical service providers, data companies and technical partners interested in supporting data enhancement and exploration promotion initiatives in the country.
The week concluded on a major high note for The Gambia when Engr. Cany Jobe was named winner of the Leading Woman in African Energy Award at the 30th Anniversary Edition of the Big Five Board Awards, held as the grand finale of the Summit.
The award recognises pioneering female leadership in Africa’s energy sector. Engr. Jobe was nominated alongside notable industry figures including Acting CEO of the Petroleum Commission of Ghana, Emeafa Hardcastle; Shell Vice President for Exploration, Nisrine Al Kadi; and Special Adviser on Energy to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, Olu Verheijen.
The Award
In her acceptance remarks, Engr. Jobe said the recognition was meaningful not only because of the award itself, but because of what it represents for women shaping Africa’s energy future through leadership, policy, regulation, exploration, investment and national development.
She dedicated the award to women and girls across the continent, both those working from the margins and those already occupying leadership positions.
Leadership Seminar
Following the Summit, members of the Gambian delegation participated in a leadership seminar on licensing and contracts organised by New Producers for Sustainable Energy in collaboration with Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP, The Risk Advisory Group and Westwood Energy.
The seminar focused on licensing, fiscal and contractual issues shaping exploration investment across Africa, including direct negotiations and competitive bidding rounds, petroleum fiscal regimes, production sharing agreements, cost recovery structures, investment risk and how different categories of companies evaluate opportunities in frontier petroleum jurisdictions.
In Conclusion
The Gambia’s participation at the Africa Energies Summit is expected to further strengthen investor confidence and public interest in the country’s oil and gas exploration sector.
It also demonstrated the continued technical, commercial and institutional work being undertaken to position The Gambia as a credible, responsible and investment-ready frontier petroleum jurisdiction.
