SEA for Sustainable Oil and Gas Sector Development in Senegal

The environment ministry of Senegal has invited the NCEA to coach an SEA for a policy for the oil and gas sector. This followed the 2018 3rd National Conference on Sustainable Development, which was dedicated to the offshore oil and gas sector. In 2021, onshore was added. NCEA had spoken at this conference, and the prime minister had proposed an SEA.

Significant details

Significant reserves of oil and gas have been discovered off the coast of Senegal. The country now faces the challenge of exploiting these resources in a sustainable manner. This was the topic of the May 2018 National Conference on Sustainable Development. At the conference, the prime minister proposed to develop a policy for sustainability of the offshore oil and gas sector, to be produced by means of an SEA. The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development's direction responsible environmental assessment, the DEEC, requested the NCEA to coach the preparations. In summer 2020 the Minister of Petroleum and Energy and the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development decided to join forces and invite other ministries to make a joint sustainable development plan for the offshore sector, with an SEA. In summer 2022 the study has started, and a group of ministries will on that base decide how thety will promoote sustainable development in the sector. The process is financed by the World Bank. Progress of this SEA will be tracked on the website of the Ministry of Petrol and Energy (http://www.energie.gouv.sn/documentation/). The minutes of the first meeting of the interministerial task force can also be downloaded from NCEA's webpage (see the column on the right side).

One of the first fields to be developed is the Grand Tortue / Ahmeyim field, which is shared with Mauritania. The NCEA reviewed the ESIA that has been drafted by the BP/Kosmos consortium. This review (in 2019) already generated invaluable insights for the SEA.

Read our article on Strategic Environmental Assessment for sustainable Oil and Gas Sector Development in Senegal here.

Read our interview with Mr Papa Samba Ba and Mr Baba Drame, two key stakeholders closely involved in the process, here.