As of November 30, 2024, the cursor of all oil trading rooms around the world is scanning the Atlantic to follow the 3rd loading of crude oil from the SANGOMAR field destined for a refinery in Western Europe with 1 000,000 barrels in its cals, i.e. more than 50 billion CFA francs at an average price of 72 US dollars per barrel equivalent to Omani crude . This is the 8th cargo for the second half of 2024.
For the month of November 2024, there is a record production of 2.94 million barrels of crude oil extracted from the Sangomar offshore field, entirely marketed on the international market. Thus for this year 2024, annual production should be around 15 to 16 million barrels of crude oil, exceeding forecasts of 4 to 5 million barrels, the initial output estimate of 11.5 million barrels annually.
At the current barrel price, this is a turnover of 500 billion CFA francs for just 6 months of production with a peak production of around 15 million barrels. An anticipated return on investment of 20% which far exceeds all offshore installations in Africa south of the Sahara. Woodside's stock is trading high on the Sydney Stock Exchange in Australia; the operator holds more than 80% of RSSD Rufisque Offshore: the joint venture with Petrosen.
One wonders if our crude oil exports, in offshore operations, on the high seas, pass and satisfy customs and tax barriers..
To date, no taste, no barrel is transformed, refined or treated even a little in our refinery at MBAO, even our quota of around 30% of extraction, i.e. 25,000 barrels / day is also exported to the same time when annual imports of oil and petroleum products from Nigeria reach 800 billion FCFA annually.
Even the gas mixture from oil extraction which can serve as fuel for gas power plants is lost in flaring due to lack of adequate facilities to transport this segregated gas to the continent from dual power plants.
And yet in 2019, already the Minister of Oil and Energy at the time, was already anticipating the local processing of Sangomar crude by validating the contract between the Société Africaine de Raffinage and the French engineering company Technip FMC for an amount of 70 million euros or 50 billion FCFA. An upgrade of refining units and an increase in capacity simultaneously, today it is as if the work was never carried out, it is work without any effect on downstream oil. This is therefore a shortfall of more than 250 billion FCFA annually for the economy if we do not discount the 3,000,000 million barrels of our quota in Sangomar production.
The entire oil value chain, which represents 15% of GDP, is suffering this loss or even economic and commercial damage with the obsolescence and unpreparedness of the SAR.
Refining SANGOMAR crude means firstly capitalizing on the fuel from SENELEC, which imports more than 300 billion CFA annually. And yet we have been waiting for this crude since 1948 with the repatriation of the ORSTOM and BRGM research archives by President Senghor. The SAR is the pioneer of refiners in French-speaking Africa, it is 50 years old but has not evolved, victim of the lack of ambitions of its leaders, often the accomplices of importers and traders of oil and petroleum products. And yet the entire hinterland depends on the SAR, especially for fuel.
While waiting for a frank and sincere assessment of the shareholding of the SAR and the leonine contract of Technip SFM, our oils, despite their sulfur content, will continue to satisfy European and soon Asian refiners and the grand dame of the Senegalese economy. and consumers in the country and neighboring countries.
Moustapha DIAKHATE
Infrastructure and Energy Policy Expert
