Nigeria’s agency responsible for the local development of oil and gas, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Senegalese Petroleum Industry have agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding on the development of local content in Senegal’s oil and gas industry.
The agreement was reached at that bilateral meeting between representatives of both countries in Lagos. The deal is a part of Nigeria’s strategic support to the development of local content in African countries, including Niger Republic, Uganda, Gabon, Kenya, Ghana and the Republic of Congo.
In addition to addressing the issue of funding in Senegal’s oil and gas sector, the deal also seeks to find solve the challenges preventing Africa’s maximization of its hydrocarbon resources. The leader of the Senegalese delegation who also serves as the technical secretary of the National Committee of Local Content, Mor Ndiage Mbaye, stated that as the country was a new entrant into the oil and gas industry, the MOU in Nigeria will help greatly in building local parties in Senegal.
Nigeria’s representative, Simbi Wabote of the NCDMB, emphasized Nigeria’s desire to see cooperation among African countries towards the development of the oil and gas industry across the continent.
Since Senegal discovered oil and gas in commercial quantities between 2014 and 2017, the county has embarked on moves to explore reserves estimated to be in excess of 40 billion cubic feet of gas. It currently has in works the Greater Tortue Ahmeyin LNG gas project underway in offshore waters on the border with Mauritania. It is Senegal’s deepest offshore project and is scheduled to come on stream in 2023.