This is a historic turning point for this country on the Atlantic coast. Senegal has just entered the era of oil producers with the launch of extraction from the Sangomar offshore deposit. A new jewel in the continent’s energy crown.
About 100 km from the Dakar coast, this deep-water oil field holds wonderful promises for the coffers of the Senegalese state.
The first estimates of the exploitation of this oil deposit indicate an annual jackpot of around 650 billion CFA francs, or more than a billion euros per year.
A substantial contribution to public finances, derived from the production potential of 100,000 barrels per day predicted by the Australian operator Woodside Energy.
Enough to fuel the wildest dreams of economic emancipation for a nation still too dependent on external resources.
But this wind of prosperity does not blow without turbulence. The policy led by Ousmane Sonko already calls for an in-depth review of the contractual terms inherited from the Sall regime.
“We promised to renegotiate these contracts and we are going to do it,” thundered the Prime Minister, calling into question the distribution deemed too favorable to foreign majors.
A dialectic now classic in the world of hydrocarbons, where the balance of power evolves according to discoveries and geopolitical upheavals.
Senegal, playing its new black card, seems determined not to let its laws be dictated to by the voracious appetites of multinationals.
It remains to be seen whether this emerging standoff with its industrial partners will not jeopardize the prospects of this little maritime Eldorado.
Or if, like its oil neighbors, Dakar will be able to sustainably convert this new windfall into shared power and prosperity.
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