The Africa Report — July-August 2017

that the socio-environ-

mental impacts of hydrocarbons

explorationdonotthreatenfishing,

which is currently the country’s

leading foreign-exchange earner.

Traditional fishermen’s organisa-

tions are already concerned. The

Saint-Louis and Cayar Offshore

Profondblocks–partoftheGreater

TortueComplex–arelocatednear

the two main fishing ports.

“Hydrocarbons should be

seen as a useful resource that

can finance the development of

other sectors, particularly export-

orientedindustriesthatcreatejobs

and added value,” says Boileau

Loko, the International Monetary

Fund’sresidentrepresentativefor

Senegal.“Infactoilandgasarenot

only weak job creators, but they

are non-renewable. Reforms that

foster a conducive business envi-

ronment for private investments

in the agricultural, industrial and

services sectors must continue.”

If Senegal wants to make the

most of its oil and gas sector, it is

alsoimportantforthegovernment

to foster a specialised network of

SMEs, which is underdeveloped

at this stage. To achieve this,

President Macky Sall created the

Comité d’orientation stratégique du

pétrole et du gaz(COS-Petrogaz)in

August 2016. It is led by Ousmane

Ndiaye, a Petrosen veteran, who

is responsible for spearheading

the sector’s growth.

Cameroonian academic and

extractive industries law expert

Achille Ngwanza also suggests

putting in place an institutional,

fiscal and legal framework similar

to Ghana’s: “It is important to

have an institution monitoring

local content requirements that

protect local jobsand companies,

notonlyoverthecontract’slifebut

also upstream and downstream.

For example, the Ghanaian law

states that a local Ghanaian law

firm should be involved in every

project,” he says.

TRAINING THE WORKFORCE

The success of a local content

policy is also closely linked to

an aggressive training strategy.

In collaboration with theInstitut

Français du Pétroleand some

companies present in Senegal,

including Total, the ministries of

educationandvocationaltraining

are working to create a training

centre dedicated to jobs in the oil

and gas industry.

In addition to educating future

engineers,thereisanurgentneed

to train good technicians, who

are often lacking in sub-Saharan

countries.

The facilities of theSociété

Africaine de Raffinage, which has

been in operation since 1963, are

outdated. It is crucial to renovate

them if the company is going to

supply locally produced crude

oil. Training engineers and tech-

nicians will also make it possible

to produce electricity using local

gas, which in turn will help re-

duce the country’s kilowatt-hour

price, currently among the most

expensive in West Africa and a

major handicap to its industrial

development.

Christophe Le Becand

Amadou Oury Dialloin Dakar

forJeune Afrique.

MAURITANIA

Atlantic

Ocean

SENEGAL

GAMBIA

GUINEA-BISSAU

GUINEA

A

B

C

E

H

I J

100 km

Nouakchott

Saint-Louis

New discoveries

or former operations

F G

D

Key to the blocks

A:Saint-Louis Offshore Profond

B:Cayar Offshore Profond

C:Rufisque Offshore Profond

D:Rufisque Offshore

E:Sangomar Offshore Profond

F:Sangomar Offshore

G:Djiffere Offshore

H:Sénégal Offshore Sud Profond

I:AGC Profond*

J:Dome Flore

DAKARDAKAR

Greater Tortue Complex*

BP/Kosmos

Total

Cairn

Energy

African

Petroleum

TA Oil

* Zone divided between

several countries

Gas

discoveries

700 bn m^3

Oil

discoveries

473 m barrels

CNOOC*CNOOC*CNOOC*

SOURCE: JEUNE AFRIQUE AND OIL COMPANIES

Senegal’s soon-to-be-exploited

offshore oil and gas

68 BUSINESS| COMPANIES & MARKETS