Senegal to open 10 blocks for 2019 bidding round

In an interview with Africa Oil & Power, Director General of Petrosen Mamadou Faye said that the West African country plans to open 10 blocks in a 2019 bidding round in Q1 or Q2.

The national oil company head said Senegal is currently in the process of preparing new legislation and regulatory frameworks that will be issued before the end of this year. “I can tell you today that we are preparing a new law that we will issue this year. After the issue of the law, we will open most of the blocks that today are not available,” said Faye.
Speaking at the National Oil Companies panel session hosted on day two of the Africa Oil & Power conference, he said that the legislation would lay the ground for the bidding round and investors coming into the country, and that some licenses had already been opened. “Some blocks are already open, they are free. Most of the contracts are finished and they will be licensed. There is an onshore block, but we have no new data yet.”

“The national oil company [Petrosen] is planning future development, we have old oil refineries and we are not happy. It is not enough for Senegal. We have to go bigger,” he said. He added that the SNE project, which is expected to reach FID by the middle of the second quarter of 2019, will be crucial to the development of Senegal’s energy sector.