Key facts
- Senegal will offer up to 109 oil and gas blocks to investors.
- Only four of Senegal's 113 oil and gas blocks are currently contracted.
- The government aims to create local leaders in the energy, oil, and gas sectors.
- Woodside Energy's Sangomar oil project achieved first oil in June 2024.
- BP's Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project began LNG exports offshore Senegal and Mauritania a year after Sangomar's first oil.
Senegal is preparing to offer up to 109 oil and gas blocks to both domestic and international investors, according to El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf, the country's Energy and Petroleum Minister. This initiative aims to expand the nation's energy sector and foster local leadership. Currently, only four of Senegal's 113 oil and gas blocks are under contract, leaving the remaining 109 available for market participation.
The country has seen significant oil and gas discoveries in its offshore regions over the past decade, leading to the launch of its first oil project in 2024 and LNG exports a year later. Woodside Energy's Sangomar oil project reached its first oil milestone in June 2024, utilizing a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility with a capacity of 100,000 barrels per day. Thierno Ly, general manager of Senegal's national oil company Petrosen, described the Sangomar field's first oil as a new era for the country's industry, economy, and people.
Following this, BP, as the operator, commenced LNG exports from Phase 1 of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project, which straddles the maritime border between Mauritania and Senegal. Phase 1 of the GTA project is projected to produce approximately 2.3 million tons of LNG annually for over two decades.