Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
Senegal is set to launch its next oil & gas licensing round at the Africa Oil & Power 2019 Conference & Exhibition, slated from October 9-11 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The announcement follows the signing of cooperation between Africa Oil & Power, Cos-Petrogaz and national oil company, Petrosen on a drive to promote the country’s next phase of investment.
A fortnight ago, President of Senegal, H.E Macky Sall, met with Africa Oil & Power CEO Guillaume Doane to discuss Senegal’s ambitious plans to bring mega oil and gas projects online and attract new operators in the market. President Sall will receive the prestigious Africa Oil Man of the Year award at the conference on October 9.
“Thanks to the tremendous leadership of H.E. President Macky Sall, Senegal is now renowned as a well-established energy market and destination for investment.
“Through this new drive for investment, we look forward to working with Africa Oil & Power on positioning Senegal for a new era of projects and prosperity,” Africa Oil and Power quoted Ousmane N’Diaye, Permanent Secretary of COS-Petrogaz yesterday
Senegal has been trailblazing in its efforts to make energy work for greater economic growth and development and acknowledges the potential and early results presented by the Plan Senegal Emergent initiative (PSE), led by President Sall.
Through its dedicated focus on the oil, gas and power sectors following the discovery of massive hydrocarbons reserves, Senegal is preparing to become a middle-income country by 2035. The government aims to achieve this through the PSE initiative launched in 2014.
“With discovery after discovery, Senegal has distinguished itself as one of Africa’s leading exploration frontiers. Another licensing round is certain to draw interest from a wide variety of operators. Thanks to the leadership of President Macky Sall, Senegal is a prime example of a country making energy work – creating an enabling environment for business to succeed, attracting huge international investments while providing capacity for local power generation, industry, and downstream development,” said Guillaume Doane.
With a vision to create “An emerging Senegal in 2035, with a cohesive society under the rule of law” the PSE looks to the power sector as a catalyst for growth. Senegal today has a power generation capacity of 25% – a leap forward from the rolling blackouts the West African nation had been prone to, prior to the implementation of the PSE.
Further, Senegal now boasts an electricity rate of 64%, well ahead of the rest of West Africa and significantly closer to its target of universal power access by 2025 – which will also include implementation of 15% of renewable energy.
Senegal is a hotspot for oil and gas exploration and development. With 8 major oil and gas discoveries since 2014, it is moving closer to becoming a large-scale oil and gas producer. The country has capitalized on this interest by rapidly bringing the first phase of the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim gas project to final investment decision in December 2018, with Cairn Energy’s SNE oilfield is set to see the same milestone in September this year. “With several world-class oil and gas discoveries, Senegal has built an excellent reputation globally in the energy industry.
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