• Move follows delays, stalled investment decision and BP’s earlier withdrawal

• Government prioritizes domestic gas supply while keeping option for future exports

Senegal plans to nationalize the offshore Yakaar-Teranga gas project as part of a strategy to secure domestic gas supply, Energy Minister Birame Souleye Diop announced on Tuesday at a conference in Diamniadio.

Authorities consider Yakaar-Teranga a strategic pillar of the country’s energy policy. The project is intended to support power generation, reduce fuel imports and, at a later stage, potentially supply export markets.

“The project already has operators, but we want to bring it under national control and let Petrosen lead its development so it can serve domestic gas needs, while still leaving the door open for exports,” Diop said.

Kosmos Energy currently holds 90 percent of the license. State-owned Petrosen controls the remaining 10 percent. The partners indicated last year that a final investment decision, estimated at about 5 billion dollars, was expected before the end of 2025. No update has been provided since. The absence of a decision likely forms part of the backdrop to Tuesday’s announcement, and the project’s production timeline remains unclear.

The prospect of nationalization also follows earlier delays. BP’s withdrawal as operator at the end of 2023 had already pushed back the final investment decision.

The move is consistent with policy directions expressed in previous years. In 2019, Kosmos Energy’s West Africa leadership indicated that the first phase of Yakaar-Teranga would be dedicated primarily to meeting Senegal’s domestic gas needs.

Diop’s statement confirms that supplying the local market remains central to how the project will be developed. Nationalization would give the state greater control over project governance, the development schedule and key decisions such as the allocation of gas volumes and the balance between domestic consumption and exports.

Olivier de Souza