Senegal Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in senegal, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Oil & Gas
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Overview

A succession of discoveries off the Senegalese coastline since 2014 has made the country attractive to oil exploration companies.  BP and U.S.-based company Kosmos are in partnership to develop two fields: the Grand Tortue (GTA) and the Yakaar Teranga hub.  The GTA gas field straddles Senegal and Mauritania.  The Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement signed between BP, Kosmos, and the governments of Senegal and Mauritania provide for a 50-50 split in revenues.  The Yakaar Teranga hub, further south of Saint Louis, will mainly produce gas for internal consumption and intended to decrease energy costs.   Grand Tortue holds confirmed reserves of 100 TCF on both sides of the border, leading to massive gas production in Senegal and Mauritania over the next 10 years.  Further south near Dakar, the Sangomar oil field is being developed by Woodside. 

The Government of Senegal approved a new Petroleum Code in 2019, updating Senegal’s oil and gas legal framework.  The gist of the law reflects the spirit of the new constitution, which stipulates that the country’s natural resources belong to its people.  As a result, the law’s profit-sharing mechanisms guarantee more favorable terms to the national oil company Petrosen, including a minimum of 10 percent interest in projects in the exploration phase and up to 30 percent interest when projects reach the development and exploitation stages.  The code requires oil companies to source a portion of labor and materials locally and contribute to a training fund for local workers.  The Senegalese Parliament has voted the local content requirement law, but the regulating decrees are yet to be promulgated.  The Government of Senegal also recently approved a new Gas Code meant to regulate the development of mid-stream distribution solutions for domestic use of natural gas in the energy and manufacturing sectors. 

Power Africa has also successfully provided technical assistance and capacity building to aid the nascent Senegalese gas sector.  

Leading Sub-Sectors

Senegal has a dozen offshore blocks that are currently open, including new ultra-deep offshore blocks.  Several blocks remain open and the Government of Senegal remains open to queries from interested developers.  [1]

Opportunities

Gas-to-Power solutions:  While awaiting the coming online of offshore gas deposits, the Government of Senegal plans to import LNG as a bridging measure and convert all current HFO plants in gas-to-power plants.  Senegal’s convertible production capacity is estimated between 400 MW and 500 MW.

Gas pipelines:  With a total length of about 472 kilometers, the cost of constructing the network is estimated at around $300 million and will be carried out in several successive phases.  The U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a grant to Senegal’s sovereign wealth fund, Fonds Souverain d’Investissements Stratégiques (FONSIS), in September 2020 for a feasibility study for an onshore pipeline network to supply gas from Senegal’s offshore gas fields to its power plants.

Opportunities:

  • Helicopter services for transportation of platform personnel
  • 3D seismic surveys 
  • LNG pipeline design and construction
  • Pipe manufacturing
  • Maritime dredging
  • Inspection and testing
  • Waste management

Resources

Ministry of Oil and Energy: http://www.energie.gouv.sn/

Petrosen (national oil company): https://www.petrosen.sn/

Invest in Africa:   https://investafrica.com/

FONSIS (sovereign wealth fund):  https://www.fonsis.org/en

 

[1] Le bloc pétrolier Sénégal Offshore Sud Profond dans le lot – Petrosen

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