At the end of Senegalese President Macky Sall’s two-day visit to Mauritania, the two countries signed an agreement on the exploitation of the largest gas field in West Africa.
Located about 125 kilometers off the city of Saint-Louis (Senegal), straddling the Senegal-Mauritanian maritime boundary, the Grande Tortue deposit would contain gas reserves estimated at 450 billion cubic meters, which would make it the largest in West Africa.
The discovery of this deposit located at 5 200 meters deep was announced in January 2016 by President Macky Sall following the surveys of the American company Kosmos. The latter then signed a memorandum with the Petroleum Company of Senegal (Petrosen) and the Mauritanian Company of Hydrocarbons and Mining Heritage, endorsing the principles of intergovernmental cooperation for the development of the Grande Tortue complex with an area of 1 200 square kilometers.
The operation will begin in 2021 as part of a joint venture between Kosmos and BP.
In addition to the gas exploitation agreement, a memorandum of understanding concerning the exploitation of fisheries resources between the two countries will have to be signed by the end of March, as well as an agreement on the conditions of entry and stay of their nationals.
About the BP-Kosmos tandem
As a reminder, the British oil giant BP announced in December 2016 that it was buying up 62% of the assets, including the exploitation, of the exploration blocks of Kosmos in Mauritania and an effective effective participation of 32,49% in the blocks of Kosmos exploration in Senegal. The transaction was estimated at 1 billion.
