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Senegal’s new President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, plans to RENEGOTIATE OIL and GAS CONTRACTS TO INCREASE STATE REVENUE. The West African nation is becoming one of the world’s fastest-growing economies with the launch of the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim liquefied natural gas project and the Sangomar oil development.
Senegal’s new government, led by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, plans to renegotiate oil and gas contracts with foreign companies to increase state revenue. The current split is 75% for foreign companies and 25% for the Senegalese government . The government aims to revise the framework for managing oil and gas revenues, potentially changing the split, but the new ratio has not been disclosed yet. The reassessment of contracts with major industry players such as BP, Kosmos Energy, and Woodside Energy Group is aimed at enhancing the state’s revenue from these ventures.
SENEGAL’s OIL PROJECTS:
– Sangomar Oil Development: Senegal has officially become an oil exporter with the Sangomar project, operated by Woodside, producing 100,000 barrels per day of medium-sulfur oil ².
– Grand Tortue Ahmeyim Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project: This $4.8 billion project is expected to enable exports of up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day and at least 2.5 million tonnes of LNG annually ¹.
Senegal’s Oil Reserves and Consumption:
– Oil Reserves: Senegal has no oil reserves .
– Oil Consumption: Senegal consumes 49,000 barrels per day of oil, ranking 105th in the world .
Senegal has officially become an oil exporter with the Sangomar project, operated by Woodside. The $5.2 billion development is now producing 100,000 barrels per day of medium-sulfur oil. This first export highlights the project’s importance for the country.
The Greek tanker Maran Poseidon, chartered by Shell International Trading, arrived at the export terminal to transport the Senegalese crude. This tanker, with a capacity of 1.06 million barrels, is ready to deliver this first cargo sold to Shell, a significant milestone for Senegal on the global energy scene.
This new inflow of non-OPEC+ crude comes at a critical time. The producers’ alliance is trying to stabilize the market and raise prices in the face of growing production in America and persistent inflation. Sangomar’s oil, with qualities similar to those of Oman Blend and Johan Sverdrup, is well positioned to attract refineries in China, Poland, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Woodside holds an 82% stake in the project, alongside Petrosen with 18%. The crude is loaded from the 1.3 million-barrel FPSO Leopold Sedar Senghor, anchored 100 km off Dakar. The project comprises 24 wells, including 12 production wells, 10 water injectors, and two gas injectors.
The cargo is loaded on the FPSO Leopold Sedar Senghor. The Sangomar project comprises a complex infrastructure with 24 wells, including 12 production wells, 10 water injectors, and two gas injectors for the first phase. The total capacity of the development makes it a major player in the sector.
The FIRST OIL SHIPMENT came after Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s election victory.
Despite announcing contract renegotiations, no concrete action has been taken yet. Senegal is also gearing up for the start-up of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim LNG project, operated by BP and expected later this year. The addition of this new crude oil and natural gas source to the world market strengthens Senegal’s role as a key player in the player in the energy industry, opening up significant economic prospects and investment opportunities.
Australian oil and gas company Woodside Energy is targeting first oil from the Sangomar offshore project in Senegal towards the middle of next year now that its FPSO, Léopold Sédar Senghor, has departed Singapore. The Sangomar field is located about 50 nautical miles south of Dakar, Senegal’s capital, and it will be the country’s first offshore oil development.
The FPSO, a former VLCC converted by Japanese operator Modec, is sailing 12,000 nautical miles to the site.
Senegal is fast emerging as a major hydrocarbon-producing nation. Since 2014, exploratory efforts have turned up more than one billion barrels of oil and 120 trillion cubic feet of natural gas offshore. The country expects to earn $1.4 billion in revenues over the next two years, based on a benchmark price of $90 per barrel from the Sangomar offshore field and BP’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project.
The FPSO, formerly the VLCC Astipal, has been undergoing conversion over the past three years. Built in 2001, Astipal was acquired by Modec in 2020 before sailing to China for the conversion. The hull and marine works, external turret and topsides module installation and conversion work were completed by COSCO Shipyard.
The FPSO then sailed to Seatrium in Singapore. The (recently merged) yard’s scope of work included topsides integration, as well as support for the onshore commissioning.
The sailing of the FPSO is another step forward for the Sangomar project, which is now on course for first oil in mid-2024. The FPSO will be capable of processing 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day, 130 million cubic feet of gas per day, 145,000 barrels of water injection per day, and will have a minimum storage capacity of 1.3 million barrels of crude oil.
“Sangomar is Senegal’s first offshore oil development, and we remain committed to working with the government of Senegal and local communities to ensure that the benefits from our investments are felt broadly across the country,” said Meg O’Neill, Woodside CEO.
Modec said the conversion of the FPSO was a demanding project in terms of both technical and execution complexity, with the challenges compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The FPSO Léopold Sédar Senghor is Modec’s fifth FPSO to be delivered to West Africa. The company has some 30 years of operational experience in the region and currently operates two FPSOs in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
Ambassador Abdelahed Mbaki: Leaving behind a lasting legacy of diplomacy.
Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Kuwait, Ambassador of Senegal, Abdelahed Mbaki has 40 years of diplomatic experience, 33 years of them in Kuwait as ambassador of his country here, and has for the last 23 years been dean of the diplomatic corps. He was one of the last ambassadors to leave Kuwait during the invasion period in 1990, and the first to return after liberation in March 1991 when the oil-well fires were still burning.
Ambassador Mbaki was able to form friendships between different segments of people and residents in Kuwait, and he has many wonderful memories of his time in Kuwait. He was not only a good friend and colleague of the heads of diplomatic missions, but also extended these relations to all journalists, supporting them in their work.
The Times Kuwait met with the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps prior to his departure from the country, following the end of his tenure in Kuwait and his decision to retire from diplomatic work.
He began by thanking us for giving him the opportunity to speak to the Kuwaiti people and the ruling family on the occasion of the end of his duties as Senegalese ambassador to Kuwait, which began in 1988. “Before arriving here, I was an advisor at the Senegalese embassy in Jeddah and then the general consul in Jeddah, before moving to Riyadh to open my country’s embassy there. In 1988, the Senegalese President Abdou Diouf appointed me as the Ambassador of the Republic of Senegal to Kuwait.
“My first meeting with a Kuwaiti official was with the late Amir H H Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time. I presented to His Highness a copy of the credentials, and then I had the honor to meet His Highness the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad to present my credentials as the ambassador of my country to Kuwait. I was a referred ambassador to Bahrain and Jordan and then to Lebanon and South Yemen before the union as a non-resident ambassador.”
Speaking about his long tenure as Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Kuwait, the ambassador said, “I took over the deanship of the diplomatic corps 23 years ago, and this task in Kuwait was not difficult. I worked with the best ambassadors and developed friendship, fellowship, and cooperation with them. At first, the number of embassies in Kuwait was about 60, but when H H Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed took over as prime minister, many embassies were opened until their number almost doubled.
This made the mission of deanship much greater, as I used to meet with ambassadors once or twice a week during all national occasions for each country, or in Kuwaiti public and private occasions. But I never felt tired with the mission of the Deanship because I received cooperation from all colleagues and from all officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the past three decades. In my personal opinion, diplomatic work in Kuwait is better than in many countries because it is easy to communicate with all officials.”
PHOTO: DEAN of the DIPLOMATIC CORPS and AMBASSADOR of SENEGAL, His Excellency SHEIKH ABDELAHED MBAKI at the Senegal Embassy in Kuwait.
Onward & Upward towards, One People, One Nation, One Destiny.
