Senegal—steady as she goes
A ministerial departure and a supermajor arrival reflect the rising stakes in West Africa's latest upstream player, but the president is playing it cool
Senegal is being well and truly blooded as a new oil and gas province. And as in the tradition of frontier exploration, the geopolitical risk is becoming murkier, as the list of discoveries grows. In the latest episode, the energy minister was sacked by President Macky Sall on the same day in early May that it was announced that France's Total had signed an agreement covering exploration and a production sharing contract for the 10,357 sq km Rufisque Offshore Profond block off the central Senegalese coast and would also assess the potential of Senegal's ultra-deepwater acreage. Total will hold a 90% stake in the block, with state oil company Petrosen taking the other 10%. Sall has given no r
Also in this section
24 October 2024
Producers in the region see significant gains to be made by boosting output using the infrastructure already in place
23 October 2024
Markets have seen no material disruption from the war so far, but as the fighting goes on it is a matter of when, not if
23 October 2024
Majors in the region are pushing boundaries and could see significant upside, but longer-term risks remain
22 October 2024
Angola is unlikely to meet the official timeline for an IPO of state-owned oil giant Sonangol in 2026