(WO) – Senegal has 104 oil and gas blocks available to investors and wants to sign new upstream contracts to speed up exploration and production, Energy and Petroleum Minister El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf said at the African Energy Week conference in Cape Town. In March, Senegal reorganized its acreage into 113 blocks: 65 onshore and 48 offshore. Four are under contract. Five offshore blocks have been allocated to Eni, which signed an agreement to assess their oil and gas potential.
Senegal is also looking for partners to develop the Yakaar-Teranga gas project with national oil company Petrosen, which took full control after Kosmos Energy withdrew in April. Diouf said the project will supply gas for power generation, industrial uses including fertilizer production, and export. It will need a coherent development structure, credible buyers and a clear investment program, he said. “Our strategy is to build the value chain from the well to the factory, with gas at the heart of our industrial ambition,” Diouf said.
Diouf asked investors to review Senegal’s data, work with its technical teams and bring proposals backed by the capacity to invest and execute. He also asked partners to involve Senegalese companies and workers from the start, with support from the national local content monitoring committee. “Capital must earn a return. Senegal must gain a stronger economy. The partnership we seek must serve both purposes,” he said.
Diouf said Senegal hopes to expand the MSGBC alliance beyond its five current members (Senegal, Mauritania, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea), but he didn’t say which countries are under consideration.
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