In the deep subsoil of the African continental shelf, about 125 kilometers off the coast of Senegal and Mauritania, there is a precious treasure that, even before seeing the light, already awakens found passions. A huge gas bag of 15 trillion cubic feet, sufficient for 30 years of production, will begin to be exploited in 2022. This discovery has generated enormous development expectations in both countries. In Saint Louis, the closest city, this illusion is mixed with great concern about the environmental impact that gas extraction can have on its main economic activity, fishing. The future is not written, but risks and opportunities travel hand in hand.
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The site is called Gran Tortuga and is divided between two blocks that currently hold three companies, British Petroleum (BP) at 60%, the American Kosmos Energy (30%) and the Senegalese national company Petrosen (10%). It will be BP who assumes the bulk of the gas exploitation, which will have two main destinations: most of it will be liquefied on the ground and will be transported to the buyer countries by specialized ships, which allows it to reach distant markets, and another part It will be transported to land by gas pipelines and will be used to produce electricity in Senegal and Mauritania.
Current calculations suggest that this gas will allow Senegal to generate 250 megawatts, that is, a quarter of its current energy production will come from gas, less polluting and cheaper than diesel, the fuel used mostly today. To do this, it will have to convert its plants or build new gas power plants, which is already in the Government's plans. The first phase of extraction, of about two or three years, will allow to generate 2.5 million tons per year, which will go to 12.5 million in the next two phases.
The liquefied gas will also not pass through the city of Saint Louis. The eight wells planned (the deepest in Africa as the stock market is about 2,000 meters deep from the seabed) are 125 kilometers from the coast. From there the gas will travel in pipelines to the Floating Unit of Production, Storage and Discharge (FPSO), a ship-platform that is being built in China and will be located about 40 kilometers from the coast. There the impurities of the gas are eliminated. This vessel has the capacity to process about 500 million cubic feet a day.
Once treated, the clean product is sent by pipes to the Floating Liquefaction Unit (FLNG), located one kilometer from the coast and protected from the force of the sea by a dike that will be built for this purpose. Here the gas is turned into a liquid by a cooling process and will be the point where the ships will come to pick it up. "Everything is being built right now," BP sources say. In the port of Dakar they have had to gain 12 more hectares to the sea to elaborate the parts of the dike there, while in the vicinity of the site they begin this year to prepare the underwater soil and to delimit the spaces.
“A lot of information is missing,” says Babacar Diop, a sociologist, a Saint Louis neighbor and member of the Aar Linu Bokk platform ( Protect our resources , in Wolof, the national language), “most people are not aware of the importance of this discovery and what it can mean for their lives. If the facilities are going to be at sea, what impact will it have on fishing? ”Diop asks. The environmental impact study commissioned by BP ensures that none, except the fact that it will be prohibited to approach 500 meters from the facilities. But Aar Linu Bokk does not trust this report. “What about the reproduction of fish? If this activity is affected, many people will suffer, ”he adds.
To generate a favorable opinion and that its presence has a positive impact on the local community, the British company has launched a social investment program in areas such as Health, Education, Economic Development and the Environment that will affect all the populations of the Berber language. “We will improve Saint Louis hospital, health centers, schools. We are preparing a garbage management study. It is already underway, but we must bear in mind that we will be there for 30 years, we will go in stages. There are people who are in a hurry, ”they say from BP.
To generate a favorable opinion and that its presence has a positive impact on the local community, the British company has launched a social investment program
Diop says it is not a matter of haste. “They have handed out trash cans, t-shirts, vests for fishermen and soccer balls and have promised a medicalized ambulance. What is that next to all the benefit they will get? We want hospitals, schools, to help with the houses that have been destroyed by the sea. It's our gas, ”says the representative of Aar Linu Bokk, a platform that has starred in demonstrations to denounce the opaque distribution of licenses and an alleged case of corruption in the sale of a contract that would affect the brother of Senegalese President Aliou Sall.
However, where many have their hopes set is in economic development linked to logistics. “Of course, there will be opportunities. But we must think that we are talking about a hyperspecialized sector. The Senegalese private company will have to be renewed, adapted, modernized. An example: ship workers will eat eggs but we will need a company that meets all sanitary standards and guarantees a constant supply. Another: you have to clean the boats but that is a flammable area, you need a company with the means and proper training. It's not always easy to find, ”they explain from the company.
Regarding employment, BP has committed to the training of 50 technicians, 25 from each country, to incorporate them into the project. "But that's nothing," Diop insists, "the state would have to open schools so that young people in Saint Louis can prepare to compete in that market." Some step has already been taken. On October 23, 2018, President Macky Sall launched the National Institute of Oil and Gas of Senegal (INPG) precisely for that purpose and since 2013 has an Initiative for the Transparency of Extractive Industries that allows contracts signed by the State be in the public domain.
“What if jobs are lost at sea and in the fish value chain? What if some type of discharge occurs? We are all restless, we have no information, ”says Diop. In Saint Louis they do not have them all with them, the future will tell if all that gas will be good for the country and the city or if, on the contrary, the worst fears come true.
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