The Memorandum of Understanding signed with Eni: supervision sheds light on opinion on the blocks concerned

The Memorandum of Understanding signed with Eni relates exclusively to the evaluation of the oil and gas potential of five offshore blocks. These are SN01M – Saint-Louis Offshore Shallow (SLOS); SN02M – Cayar Offshore Shallow (COS); SN03M – Rufisque Offshore (RO); SN07M – Saint-Louis Offshore Profond (SLOP2) and SN40M – Senegal Offshore Sud Profond (SOSP). In a press release published Friday, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum specifies that none of these blocks corresponds to the perimeter housing the Yakaar and Teranga discoveries.

The Ministry of Energy and Oil has taken note of publications disseminated on social networks suggesting that the Yakaar-Teranga gas field would be affected by the Memorandum of Understanding recently signed between the State of Senegal and the company Eni, and in this regard evoking an alleged “sell-off” of this strategic asset.

Thus, through a press release published Friday, the ministry wishes to indicate, in the most formal manner, that these assertions are completely “inexact” and “not based on any technical or legal reality”.

“The Memorandum of Understanding signed with Eni relates exclusively to the evaluation of the oil and gas potential of five offshore blocks: SN01M – Saint-Louis Offshore Shallow (SLOS); SN02M – Cayar Offshore Shallow (COS); SN03M – Rufisque Offshore (RO); SN07M – Saint-Louis Deep Offshore (SLOP2); SN40M – Senegal Offshore South Deep (SOSP). None of these blocks correspond to the perimeter housing the discoveries of Yakaar and Teranga,” we read in the text.

According to the document, in the new division of the national oil domain, the area concerned by the discoveries of Yakaar and Teranga is identified under the reference SN08M. On this, the ministry indicates that this block “does not appear” among the five blocks covered by the Protocol concluded with Eni.

The document signed with Eni is not an oil contract

“The map used to support the publications in question is in reality an obsolete working version that does not reflect the final configuration of the oil field and is therefore factually erroneous and likely to mislead public opinion,” insists the authority.

Beyond that, the ministry also wanted to recall an essential element which seems voluntarily or involuntarily hidden in certain publications: “the document signed with Eni is not an oil contract and does not constitute the allocation of any block to this company”.

This is a Memorandum of Understanding, according to the minister, allowing Eni to carry out, at its own expense, preliminary, geological and geophysical studies on the five aforementioned zones.

“This Protocol does not confer on Eni any exploration or exploitation title, any right to the resources concerned and no automatic right to the subsequent conclusion of an oil contract. Any possible future step will remain subject to the procedures, negotiations and approvals provided for by Senegalese legislation and regulations,” added the press release.

No oil rights are allocated

Therefore, considers the supervisory authority, to speak of an alleged “sell-off of Yakaar-Teranga” with regard to this Protocol is a double untruth: Yakaar-Teranga is not affected by the agreement and the agreement itself does not make any allocation of oil rights.

The ministry therefore calls on everyone to be responsible and warns against the dissemination or resumption of manifestly inaccurate information likely to maintain confusion and misinform public opinion on the management of national oil and gas resources.

On this, the ministry specifies that it will continue, with PETROSEN and all the competent institutions, its policy of promoting the Senegalese sedimentary basin, relaunching exploration and responsible development of national resources, in strict compliance with the strategic interests of Senegal and the procedures provided for by law.

Mariama DIEME