• Senegal to build second refinery to boost fuel capacity
• Project cost estimated at $2–5 billion, start expected 2026
• Aims to process local crude, cut costly fuel imports
  

Senegal plans to build a second oil refinery to boost its capacity to process locally produced crude, according to several media reports quoting Mamadou Abib Diop, Director General of state-owned refining company Société Africaine de Raffinage (SAR).

Diop said the project aims to meet the country’s growing demand for fuel products. Senegal’s only refinery, located in Dakar, has a capacity of 30,000 barrels per day, which no longer meets domestic needs.

He added that the project is still in the planning stage and is expected to require between $2 billion and $5 billion in investment. Talks are underway with potential financial partners from China, Turkey, and South Korea, according to local media.

While no timeline has been finalized, SAR expects construction to begin around 2026, with operations starting in 2029.

The new facility would have a capacity of 4 million tonnes per year, which, together with the existing site’s 1.5 million tonnes, would raise SAR’s total refining output to roughly 5.5 million tonnes per year. The project is expected to follow a public-private partnership model that is still being evaluated.

The plan follows the recent launch of offshore oil production at the Sangomar field, operated by Australia’s Woodside Energy in partnership with the state-owned Petrosen.

Authorities say refining more local crude will help reduce imports of refined petroleum products, which accounted for 22.2% of Senegal’s total imports in 2024, according to the National Agency for Statistics and Demography.

Abdel-Latif Boureima