Senegal frets over gas development funding: press
Senegal’s president told delegates at a regional summit that the lack of foreign financing for projects related to natural gas could be “fatal” for emerging African economies, the Reuters news service reported November 29.
Dakar, the Senegalese capital, is hosting the China-Africa summit. Senegal president Macky Sall told delegates he was frustrated by steps away from fossil fuels, echoing comments from other oil- and gas-rich West African nations that only recently discovered vast offshore reserves.
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Some West African nations participating at the recent COP26 environmental summit said decisions by developed nations to back away from oil and gas were a detriment to Africa’s economic future.
“At a time when several African countries are preparing to exploit their significant gas resources, the end of funding for the gas sector, under the pretext that gas is a fossil energy, would bear a fatal cost to our emerging economies,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying.
A mid-November energy summit for African nations included a panel discussion on whether the current era marks the golden age for natural gas on the continent.
Although oil still remains a linchpin of the global economy, natural gas in recent years has major developments and commercial discoveries. These include the massive Grande Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas field located in offshore waters between Senegal and Mauritania.
The GTA gas field holds an estimated 15 trillion ft3 of natural gas and will position both Senegal and Mauritania as global LNG export leaders.
The first phase of BP’s GTA field was sanctioned in late 2018. Production was originally due to start in 2020, but the launch was pushed back to 2023 because of the coronavirus pandemic.