Senegal Joined The Club of Oil-producing Countries
Senegal has become an oil-producing nation with the first off-shore platform as Australian company Woodside Energy Group Ltd. announced the beginning of production on Tuesday. It is expected to generate billions of dollars for Senegal and boost its economy.
It is expected to generate billions of dollars for Senegal and boost its economy.
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Senegal has become an oil-producing nation with the first off-shore platform as Australian company Woodside Energy Group Ltd. announced the beginning of production on Tuesday.
Senegal joined the club of oil-producing countries on Tuesday as Australian group Woodside Energy announced that production had started in the West African country's first offshore project.
The oil and gas sector is expected to generate more than $1 billion annually.
BBC reports that the Sangomar deep-water project, which also has gas, aims to produce 100,000 barrels of oil daily.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has committed to responsibly managing the proceeds from the sale of the nation's oil and gas. Australian energy giant Woodside has lauded the oil production in Senegal as a groundbreaking moment and a pivotal accomplishment for the company and the country.
The general manager of the national oil company Petrosen said the nation had entered a 'new era' when production began on Tuesday.
“We have never been so well positioned for opportunities for growth, innovation, and success in the economic and social development of our nation.”
Petrosen maintains an 18% stake in the project, demonstrating a substantial commitment, while the majority is owned by Woodside Energy Group Ltd., a trusted and established industry leader.
Mr Faye, who was elected president in April, has been keen on renegotiating the deal as part of reforms he promised during the election campaign.
The President, speaking to students on Tuesday, revealed that an intergenerational fund had been established for the benefit of 'your generation and those to come.'
The country’s move to renegotiate oil and gas contracts has been seen by some analysts as making investors jittery, but government supporters have reportedly said that it is vital for the West African state to increase its stake in projects so that the nation benefits from its natural resources.
A former opposition politician, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, who was a key figure in the president’s election campaign, recently insisted that contracts signed by previous administrations were ‘unfavorable’ to the country, and would be reviewed.
Sonko was quoted as saying on Tuesday, ‘We're the ones who promised you we'd renegotiate the contracts, and we're going to do it. We've started already.’
Theo Edwards for YAME
Systemic Change and Greater Sovereignty
Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 44, the opposition candidate in the recent Senegalese election, was sworn into office on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, as the West African nation's fifth president. He's now also Africa's youngest elected president. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye will be succeeding Macky Sall who ruled Senegal since 2012.
Promises made by Bassirou Diomaye Faye during his inauguration on Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 44, the opposition candidate in the recent Senegalese presidential election, was sworn into office on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, as the nation's fifth president. He's now also Africa's youngest elected president.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye will be succeeding Macky Sall who ruled Senegal since 2012.
“Before God and before the Senegalese nation, I swear to faithfully fulfill the office of President of the Republic, of the Republic of Senegal, to observe as well as to conscientiously abide by the provisions of the constitution and the laws, to devote all my power to defending the constitutional institutions, the integrity of the territory, national independence and to spare no effort to achieve African unity.”
Senegal's Newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye addresses the audience after he took the oath of office as president during the inauguration ceremony in Dakar, Senegal April 2, 2024. Photo credit: REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
More solidarity is also needed between African nations to tackle security threats, the freshly minted leader said to an audience of officials and African heads of state in Diamniadio near Dakar, the capital city.
Over a dozen heads of state and regional representatives attended the inauguration, including Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu, Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo, and African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat. The military juntas of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger also sent representatives.
In Pictures | President Diomaye Faye of Senegal Inauguration
“The victory of President Diomaye Faye of Senegal is showing the world there is some hope in the African democracy.
May his presidency bring about the desired changes to the good people of Senegal & the entire West Africa.”
Senegal's Opposition Leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye Set to Become President
Senegal’s little-known, 44-year-old opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye was named the country's next president on Monday, less than two weeks after being released from prison to run in the election. Faye’s victory reflected frustration among youth with high unemployment and concerns about governance in the West African nation. In his first speech delivered as president-elect late Monday, the former tax inspector promised a fresh chapter following the months of violence and many political arrests that led up to the election.
Senegal’s little-known, 44-year-old opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye was named the country's next president on Monday, less than two weeks after being released from prison to run in the election.
By NEWS WIRES: Monday, March 25, 2024
Senegalese opposition presidential candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye addresses his first press conference after being declared winner of Senegal's presidential election in Dakar on March 25, 2024. © John Wessels, AFP
Faye’s victory reflected frustration among youth with high unemployment and concerns about governance in the West African nation. In his first speech delivered as president-elect late Monday, the former tax inspector promised a fresh chapter following the months of violence and many political arrests that led up to the election.
While official results of Sunday's vote were not yet available, the former prime minister who was the other frontrunner, and who was backed by incumbent President Macky Sall, conceded defeat based on preliminary results. Sall followed with congratulations, also naming Faye as the winner.
Faye’s victory reflected frustration among youth with high unemployment and concerns about governance in the West African nation. In his first speech delivered as president-elect late Monday, the former tax inspector promised a fresh chapter following the months of violence and many political arrests that led up to the election.
Youth unemployment a major issue in Senegal's presidential elections
“I pledge to govern with humility and transparency and to fight corruption at all levels. I pledge to devote myself fully to rebuilding our institutions," he said, restating promises made during his campaign.
Faye, who was backed by popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, has vowed to improve Senegal's control over its natural resources by promoting national companies to prevent the country from falling into what his campaign called “economic enslavement.” He ran in the place of his close ally Sonko, who was barred from running due to a prior conviction.
Sonko was also released on March 14 after months in prison to jubilant celebrations in the capital, following the president's announcement of a political amnesty.
The outgoing president Sall, who triggered violent protests earlier this year when he unsuccessfully tried to postpone the election until the end of the year, described the outcome of the vote as a victory for Senegal. His former prime minister and the loser in the race, Amadou Ba, wished Faye success in a statement shared by his campaign team.
The election on Sunday followed months of unrest ignited by Faye and Sonko's arrest last year, and concerns that the president would seek a third term in office despite constitutional term limits. The violence shook Senegal’s reputation as a stable democracy in a region that has seen a wave of coups. Rights groups said dozens were killed in the protests, while some 1,000 people were jailed.
The expected winner of the election, Faye is a former tax collector and was little known until Sonko named him as his heir.
His roots lie in a small town in central Senegal. He is a practicing Muslim, and has two wives. Ahead of Sunday's election, Faye published a declaration of his assets, and called on other candidates to do the same. It lists a home in Dakar, and land outside the capital and in his hometown. His bank accounts hold roughly $6,600.
“I would even say that he is more honest than me. I place the project in his hands,” Sonko told supporters at a joint news conference in March of last year. Weeks later, Faye was arrested and jailed on various charges, including defamation.
Alioune Tine, founder of Afrikajom Center, a Senegalese think tank, said the outcome of the vote proved Senegal would survive after a difficult year that had undermined the population’s faith in democracy.
“From prison to the presidential palace,” said Tine. “The only country in Africa capable of withstanding a disease of its democracy that has shaken all its institutions, profoundly shaken its society, only to recover from it.”
International analysts said a change in leadership in Senegal would come as a relief after months of violence, but raised new questions about the foreign policy of the new government at a time when the coastal nation is becoming an oil and gas producer.
On Monday night, Faye outlined some early foreign policy priorities, which included reforming the troubled West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS.
“A win by the opposition also means major changes ahead in domestic and foreign policies,” said Rida Lyammouri of the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank, adding that a promise to move away from former colonial power France could define the foreign policy of the country’s new government.
Across neighboring countries in the Sahel, including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, that recently experienced military coups, sentiment has turned against France. The ruling juntas have ended military cooperation with France while turning instead to Russia for support.
The vote was largely peaceful with a high turnout, observers said. Early counts showed voters turned out overwhelmingly in favor of the opposition. Sonko promised a resounding victory on his YouTube channel. By the evening in Dakar, Faye had been declared the winner, and celebrations erupted in Dakar.
In neighborhoods around the capital, supporters danced, played music, and set off fireworks until late at night.
“Our democracy will emerge stronger from these results,” said Ndeye Sow, 27. “We’re delighted, there was no violence here, serenity is the order of the day.”
More than 7 million people were registered to vote in a country of roughly 17 million. To win, candidates had to secure more than 50% of the vote. It was Senegal’s fourth democratic transfer of power since gaining independence from France more than six decades ago.
ECOWAS member-states with potential to developing renewable energy
As part of its "Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROGEP)," the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) organize a regional validation workshop for the Draft Standards for Electrodomestic Appliances and Regional Standard for Plug and Play Solar Home Systems Kits. May 21 – 22, 2019 in Plateau at the Hotel Fleur de Lys - Dakar, Senegal.
Senegal Hosts Regional Validation Workshop On Renewable Energy
As part of its "Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROGEP)," the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) organize a regional validation workshop for the Draft Standards for Electrodomestic Appliances and Regional Standard for Plug and Play Solar Home Systems Kits. May 21 – 22, 2019 in Plateau at the Hotel Fleur de Lys -Dakar, Senegal.
Renewable sources of electricity
Key stakeholders from national standards bodies, ministries of energy experts and other regional and international representatives will attend an important meeting for the ECOWAS member-states, with tremendous potential to developing renewable energy.
A press release by ECREEE stated the importance for consumers to have confidence in the products. And that they can access important information they can rely on to decide whether to invest in solar products and electrical appliances. With a broader agreement in product quality standards, the Sahel region and West African countries can benefit private-sector with access to the market. ECREEE through ROGEP and AGoSEREE–AO is developing standards for the region.
The workshop will address the following objectives:
Present comments and contributions from participants from across the region
Validate draft of three regional electrical appliances standards
Validate draft of ECOWAS Regional standard for plug-and-play Solar Home Systems kits
Validate strategy for implementing regional standards at national level
According to the objectives the following results are expected -The validation and submission of the Regional Standards for Household:
Appliances and Regional Standard for Plug and Play Solar Kits drafts documents validated for submission to ECOSHAM
Development of a report with recommendations for the validation workshop
Validation of the strategy to implement the regional standards at the national levels
The Electrotechnical Committee (THC5) to begin work on harmonizing for all EE and RE standards, as instructed
The ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), as part of its "Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROGEP)" funded by World Bank and Clean Technology Funds, and the initiative “Improving Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Sector Governance in West Africa (AGoSEREE-AO)" funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).