Teodor Ovidiu Tender, chairman and CEO of Tender Oil and Gas, talks to The Energy Year about the potential of blocks 5C and 6C in Guinea-Bissau and wider opportunities in energy and mining across Africa’s frontier markets.
Tender Oil and Gas is an integrated energy company that provides exploration, development and production services.
- West Africa’s geological parallels with Brazil and recent discoveries in Senegal and the AGC area reinforce confidence in the MSGBC Basin as an underexplored but promising hydrocarbon province.
- A strong economic case is emerging for integrated investment strategies that combine upstream exploration in frontier basins with infrastructure development, particularly in LNG, power generation and mining.
- Despite having few active projects for rare earth extraction, Africa has significant potential for development. Amid growing global demand and shifting supply chain diversification priorities, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau could emerge as rare earth hotspots.
What brought Tender Oil and Gas to operate in Africa, and how has your business evolved since your arrival?
We came because we anticipated opportunities in Africa as the world’s last largely underexplored oil and gas frontier. We initially took concessions onshore Senegal and offshore in the AGC [Agence de Gestion et de Coopération entre la Guinée-Bissau et le Sénégal] area, where we saw exploration potential. We made discoveries that were not commercial, but they confirmed our geological interpretations and gave our teams the chance to work across the full exploration cycle, from early-stage studies through to drilling. That is an opportunity you rarely find in Europe and other mature markets.
Many international firms approach Africa cautiously. What are the key factors for successful entry and operations?
International players should approach Africa as they would any other market. In our experience, African governments are reliable partners. Contracts are respected. The key is to do the work, demonstrate long-term commitment and show that you are interested in supporting local communities and contributing to their development.
In April 2026, you entered into a joint venture with PetroGuin for blocks 5C and 6C in Guinea-Bissau. What potential do you see in these blocks and the MSGBC Basin?
We have confidence in these blocks for two main reasons. First, the MSGBC Basin has geological similarities with Brazilian basins because the African and American continents were once connected and have the same passive margin characteristics. Second, blocks 5C and 6C are near the shelf edge, and many discoveries have been made in Brazil at the transition between the shelf and the deepwater areas. Other discoveries in West Africa, such as those in the Dome Flore field in the AGC area, and Teranga and Sangomar in Senegal, show that the region has working petroleum systems.
Our joint venture with PetroGuin focuses on subsurface analysis and seismic acquisition, processing and interpretation, which are essential to properly evaluate a basin and a prerequisite for any serious exploration programme. Tender Group company Prospectiuni will support us by processing and reprocessing existing seismic data and providing interpretation. First, we will assess whether the existing 2D data is sufficient to define a drilling target. If it isn’t, we will acquire 3D seismic to gain a clearer understanding of the prospectivity.
Your group’s capabilities include geophysical services, oilfield engineering and manufacturing. Is vertical integration helpful in African markets?
We want to involve as many Tender Group companies as possible in our activities in Africa. The continent has been our main focus for around 15 years, and vertical integration allows us to deploy the right technical capabilities when we identify opportunities – not only in oil and gas but also in renewables, infrastructure and mining.
At one point, we had nine active concessions, including a successful gold mining operation in Senegal, in a joint venture with Resolute Mining, and we are currently exploring for gold in Guinea. Our move into offshore oil and gas in Guinea-Bissau is also motivated by the potential we see for business in LNG infrastructure. A floating storage and regasification unit could support gas-to-power projects, which are important because electrification remains one of Africa’s main challenges.
What distinguishes successful long-term investors in emerging energy markets from those who struggle?
Successful investors are those who build projects capable of operating for 10, 20 or more years. Our perspective in Africa has always been long-term. When my father arrived on the continent, his goal was to create opportunities for the next generation, and my objective is the same. Africa has enormous potential today and in the next 50 or 100 years. It has some of the world’s most compelling frontier markets and will remain a valuable destination for serious investors.
While the entire continent has potential, West Africa holds particularly interesting opportunities for us. We estimate that the projects in the region that we want to develop could be worth more than USD 2 billion. The fact that West Africa faces the US and South America gives it strategic importance, and Guinea-Bissau, in particular, is the African country closest to South America.
Where do you expect the Tender Group’s operations to stand in Africa within the next 10 years?
We want to begin mining ilmenite and other heavy minerals. Ilmenite is used to produce titanium, which has a wide range of applications, from aerospace to telecommunications. We are also interested in rare earth elements. Africa has relatively few rare earth projects today, but we believe there is significant potential in Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, especially since there is substantial international interest in developing supply streams for these materials in Africa.
The Gambia and Guinea are our first two targets among the countries we are evaluating to continue developing our African business, strengthening our presence, employing more people locally, supporting the communities at large and building projects that create value for our group and our partners.