• Government plans to lay the foundation stone for a 400 km pipeline network in 2025

• Project aims to route offshore gas, including GTA output, to domestic consumption hubs

• Goal is to shift power generation away from imported fuels toward locally produced gas

Senegal is moving forward with preparations to build its future national gas transport network, an infrastructure program led by Réseau gazier du Sénégal, the state entity responsible for developing gas-transmission systems.

The announcement was made by Energy Minister Birame Souleye Diop during the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2025 summit, held from Monday, December 8 to Wednesday, December 10 in Dakar.

According to information reported by Energy Capital & Power, the government expects to lay the foundation stone for the 400-kilometer pipeline network before the end of 2025.

No construction has begun yet, and no date has been set for the official start of works. For now, the government says it is advancing on planning priority segments and coordinating the institutional steps needed for future connections, the minister explained.

The network is intended to transport gas produced from offshore fields—including Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA), shared by Senegal and Mauritania—to consumption centers onshore. These developments follow preparatory work launched in 2024 by Réseau gazier du Sénégal to outline an initial national route.

The objective is to secure national energy supply by using domestic gas to gradually replace imported fuels in electricity generation. Senegal still relies heavily on imported petroleum products to power its grid.

A 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, published on Trade.gov, notes that nearly 90% of electricity generated in Senegal still depends on liquid fuels such as heavy fuel oil and diesel.

Technical documents published in 2023 and 2024 by the national utility Senelec indicate that plants such as Cap des Biches II and Malicounda IPP were designed to operate on natural gas once supply becomes available. These decisions, embedded in Senelec’s development plans, underscore the authorities’ intention to build a network capable of serving these facilities.

Abdel-Latif Boureima