Senegal’s energy hub ambitions gather pace

Two big hydrocarbons projects are heading for FID with Woodside stepping up to take operatorship of the SNE development

Senegal's efforts to fast-track its first major hydrocarbons developments seem to be paying off. Both the SNE and Tortue/Ahmeyhim projects are on course for a final investment decision (FID) in coming months, with first production expected in the early 2020s. BP has confirmed that it still planned to make an FID on the Tortue/Ahmeyhim gas development, which is shared with Mauritania and straddles its maritime border, by the end of December. The project moved to the front-end engineering and design (FEED) stage in April, and first gas is due in 2022. The progress suggests that an agreement thrashed out earlier this year between Senegal and Mauritania, under which they would split early incom