As the world calls for a reduction in the use of fossil fuels, new African players are emerging on the global stage and beginning to produce oil. With Niger creating its own oil and gas school in 2011, the Franco-British oil company Perenco recently made an offshore oil discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Meanwhile, Ivory Coast plans to triple its oil production by 2027.
Senegal has now joined the ranks of oil-producing countries by announcing the start of oil extraction in the deep waters of the Sangomar field by Australian company Woodside Energy on June 11. The country aims to produce 100,000 barrels per day, resulting in a national gain of one billion euros per year over thirty years.
Following this achievement, a project to produce 2.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year is in the works. The Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project, located on the border with Mauritania, is a collaboration between American company Kosmos Energy, the Mauritanian Hydrocarbon Company (SMH), and Senegalese company Petrosen.
While these prospects are promising for a “breakthrough” regime, the arrival of such wealth has often been seen as a curse. In many countries, natural resources have led regimes to divert financial benefits from improving social conditions, either through corruption or excessive spending on military equipment. Countries blessed with such resources often face international predation, especially when they experience fuel shortages.
The Senegalese government, led by Bassirou Diomaye Faye-Ousmane Sonko, is expected to deliver on its promises of anti-system and sovereignist policies from the recent presidential campaign. They affirm that the oil production will partly serve domestic consumption and accelerate the country’s economic transformation in a subtle political radicalism.
Aware of the challenges faced by neighboring Niger in fully benefiting from oil production due to issues in Benin, the new Senegalese regime plans to renegotiate oil and gas agreements, as well as mining and fishing contracts signed by previous administrations.
Overall, Senegal’s entry into oil production marks a significant milestone for the country’s economy, but it also presents challenges that the government must navigate carefully to ensure that the newfound wealth benefits the nation as a whole.