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State utility Sonelgaz’s construction programme has been beleaguered by severe problems related to implementation, alongside strategic tensions surrounding its gas-fired programme and lack of progress on renewables procurement in Algeria.

The imminent launch of Senelec’s strategic plan will show there is still momentum behind the electricity sector’s transformation as the utility commits to a gas and renewables future and its US-backed unbundling opens new possibilities for private investment. However, questions remain about whether the pace of change is sufficient to achieve the government’s objectives, writes Dan Marks.

Sovereign wealth fund Fonds Souverain d’Investissements Stratégiques (Fonsis) and government-owned Senegal Gas Network (SGN) have signed a joint development agreement with local developer West African Energy (WAE) and the Lagos-based Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) to develop Senegal’s national gas pipeline network as offshore gas is brought into operation.

Project sources have told African Energy that the 2023 date to deliver first gas from the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) field is “back on track”,

With the government broadcasting the potential for local content opportunities, President Macky Sall is banking on the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) field, shared with Mauritania, to drive growth following a grim period for the economy.

Karpowership’s 235MW Aysegül Sultan powership will start its switch to LNG in May or June, Asli Sürek of Karpowership told African Energy on 8 April. The ship has produced some 15% of Senegal’s electricity using heavy fuel oil (HFO) since it began operations in October 2019. The Aysegül Sultan will be sub-Saharan Africa’s first LNG-fuelled power plant. Sürek said Karpowership intends eventually to switch its entire fleet to LNG.

President Macky Sall’s government has emerged from the immediate chaos of extensive rioting and is pointing to major gas, infrastructure and other developments as a way to restore growth and create jobs, but its calm outward face hides deep concerns over governance and social tensions in a country which has sucked in debt and equity on the basis of its stable reputation, write Waly Dione Faye and Jon Marks.

Australia’s FAR has said approaches from Lukoil and Remus Horizons have not resulted in firm bids and it intends to hold a shareholders’ meeting on 15 April to approve the sale of its interest in the Rufisque, Sangomar and Sangomar Deep (RSSD) project to Woodside Energy. The meeting had been postponed to give the two companies time to clarify their offers, but FAR said both proposals remained incomplete.

Power Africa is seeking projects offering off-grid energy access to improve the capabilities of healthcare facilities providing maternal and child health services in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda. Grant funding will support the scale-up of existing business models or technologies for the electrification of healthcare facilities.

Lukoil has made a non-binding offer for Australia’s FAR, in a renewed attempt to win a share of the Sangomar oil project. FAR said on 17 February that Lukoil’s bid of 2.2 Australian cents a share valued it at A$220m ($173.8m). It is the latest in an increasingly complex picture regarding Sangomar and the Rufisque, Sangomar and Sangomar Deep (RSSD) exploration area.

GE has been contracted to supply equipment for the 300MW Cap des Biches power plant. GE will supply two 9E.03 gas turbines, one STF-A200 steam turbine, three A39 generators, two heat recovery steam generators and additional balance of plant equipment. The combined-cycle gas turbine power plant is being developed by Senegal’s West African Energy and will be built by Turkish EPC contractor Calik Enerji, which signed a contract in September.

General Electric (GE) will supply power generation equipment to the 300MW West African Energy combined-cycle plant in Cap des Biches, Dakar, the company announced on 28 January.

A consortium led by Vinci Construction has signed a contract with the Gambia River Basin Development Organisation (OMVG) to build the 128MW Sambangalou hydropower dam in the Kédougou Region in south-eastern Senegal, close to the border with Guinea.

Woodside has opted to exercise its right to pre-empt FAR’s planned sale to ONGC Videsh of its stake in the Rufisque, Sangomar and Sangomar Deep (RSSD) joint venture. FAR, which has a 13.67% interest in the Sangomar exploitation area and a 15% interest in the remaining RSSD evaluation area, announced the discounted sale in November after failing to raise funding for its share of the development.

Australia’s FAR Ltd has found a buyer for its stake in the RSSD development, announcing a sale and purchase agreement with ONGC Videsh for $45m plus working capital since 1 January of $66.58m. “Having been in the RSSD project for 14 years, it’s a bittersweet moment to be selling our stake,” said FAR managing director Cath Norman.