DAKAR
Senegal joined the membership of oil-producing nations on Tuesday as Australian group Woodside Power introduced that manufacturing had began within the west African nation’s first offshore mission.
Whereas Senegal’s fossil gas output just isn’t anticipated to be as excessive as that of larger producers similar to Nigeria, there are hopes the oil and fuel trade will convey billions of {dollars} in income to the nation and contribute to reworking its financial system.
“It is a historic day for Senegal and for Woodside,” mentioned the corporate’s chief govt, Meg O’Neill, calling the extraction of “first oil” from the Sangomar discipline “a key milestone”.
The floating facility is moored about 100 kilometres (60 miles) offshore. The vessel has a storage capability of 1.3 million barrels, Woodside mentioned.
The deepwater mission goals to supply 100,000 barrels of oil per day. The sphere additionally accommodates pure fuel.
Woodside has an 82-percent stake within the deepwater mission with the rest held by Senegal’s state-owned power firm Petrosen.
The invention of oil and fuel fields in 2014 raised nice hopes for the growing nation, with state-owned power agency Petrosen anticipating the sector to generate greater than $1 billion per yr over the subsequent three many years.
Petrosen normal supervisor Thierno Ly mentioned the beginning of manufacturing marked “a brand new period” for Senegal’s “trade and financial system”.
“We’ve got by no means been so nicely positioned for alternatives for development, innovation and success within the financial and social improvement of our nation,” he mentioned.
The Part 1 improvement of the Sangomar discipline contains 23 wells, 21 of which have been drilled.
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who took workplace in April, has introduced the renegotiation of oil and fuel contracts as a part of reforms he promised through the election marketing campaign.
Local weather change
Senegal additionally has a liquefied pure fuel mission at its border with Mauritania and manufacturing there may start within the third quarter.
The Higher Tortue Ahmeyim LNG mission — which entails British power big BP, U.S. agency Kosmos Power, Mauritanian oil and fuel firm SHM and Petrosen — goals to supply round 2.5 million tonnes of LNG per yr.
A number of African nations are pursuing oil and fuel tasks regardless of strain on nations worldwide to section out fossil fuels, which generate climate-heating greenhouse gases.
The African nations involved argue it’s unfair to impose such restrictions on them when the West has grow to be wealthy from fossil fuels.
On the identical time, the continent is already bearing the brunt of rising temperatures and altering rain patterns, which the United Nations says are “threatening human well being and security, meals and water safety and socio-economic improvement in Africa”.
