Eighty-three sedimentary basins cover 50% of Africa's 11.7 million square miles. Hydrocarbons are produced from 20 of these basins and a further 13 have non-produced hydrocarbons. Yet of all the basins, only 18% have been explored through a semi-mature stage. This paper presents a simplified classification of basins in Africa.

Africa's recoverable hydrocarbon reserves of 100 billion barrels of oil equivalent account for 7% of the world's total, proven reserves. This paper documents that reserve base's development through time together with the significant discoveries. Oil and gas occurrences and the play potential of each basin type are systematically described, with examples demonstrating exploration problems regarding particular basins.

Africa contains an abundance of unexplored sedimentary basins that should demonstrate relatively high success ratios but which must be evaluated with some caution because of political, fiscal, and logistical concerns.

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