São Tomé and Príncipe has initiated a new bidding round, offering three offshore oil blocks  — Blocks 7, 8, and 9 — located in its western Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) within the Gulf of Guinea.

According to the website of the African Energy Chamber, the National Petroleum Agency has called for eligible oil companies to submit technical and financial proposals, with the possibility of acquiring up to an 85 per cent participating interest in each block. The submission deadline for these proposals is June 30.

The EEZ is situated in the hydrocarbon-rich Gulf of Guinea, offshore Central Africa, in proximity to productive basins in Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon, the report says.

The country has been pursuing offshore exploration for over twenty years, both within its EEZ and a Joint Development Zone (JDZ) established with Nigeria in 2001; however, commercial oil production has not yet been achieved. 

While the acreage is regarded as a frontier area, it is considered geologically promising. The JDZ itself is positioned on the southern extension of the Niger Delta petroleum system, one of Africa’s most prolific basins.

Although reserves remain unproven, an IMF working paper indicated that the JDZ area may hold an estimated 1 to 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, the African Energy Chamber says.

International confidence in São Tomé’s upstream sector has recently increased. This momentum was confirmed in April 2026 when Brazil’s Petrobras agreed to purchase a 75 per cent stake in offshore Block 3, thereby expanding its presence in the country. 

Assuming sustained investment in exploration and successful drilling, the first commercial production is widely anticipated to commence after 2030.