Long dominated by mining, particularly gold and phosphates, Senegal’s extractive sector has seen oil and gas fields enter production over the past two years, lifting the role of hydrocarbons in the industry.

Senegal's extractive revenues increased by 23% year-on-year to reach 447 billion CFA francs (about $808 million) in 2024. While mining remained the dominant contributor to these revenues, the increase was mainly driven by the oil sector, where receipts more than doubled in a year.

According to a report published in December 2025 by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), oil companies operating in Senegal paid 77.70 billion CFA francs to the state in 2024. This figure excludes social and environmental payments as well as rehabilitation guarantees, compared with 30.65 billion CFA francs paid in 2023. The share of hydrocarbons in the state's extractive revenues rose from 8% in 2023 to 17% a year later, following the start-up of the Sangomar oil field in June 2024.

Légende: The Sangomar offshore oil platform

In its first months of operation in 2024, the Sangomar offshore field produced 16.90 million barrels of oil. It is operated by a joint venture between Australia's Woodside Energy, which holds an 82% stake, and Senegal's national company Petrosen, which holds 18%. The country also produces natural gas. Output reached 2.77 million normal cubic meters in 2024 and was used domestically to generate electricity.

Mining still leads, despite oil surge

Beyond the ramp-up of the Sangomar field, which produced 36.1 million barrels in 2025, the contribution of hydrocarbons to the country's extractive revenues is expected to strengthen further due to liquefied natural gas. Senegal began exporting LNG last year with the start of production at the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project. Nevertheless, mining is expected to continue dominating the extractive sector at least in the medium term.

According to the EITI, mining generated 369.68 billion CFA francs in revenue for the Senegalese state in 2024, an 11% increase year-on-year. The report primarily attributes this growth to customs adjustments at the country's two gold mines and at Industries Chimiques du Sénégal (ICS), which exploits phosphate. Gold and phosphoric acid, a phosphate derivative, are the two main export products of the mining sector. They reached 501.95 billion CFA francs and 287.52 billion CFA francs in declared exports, respectively.

Declared gold production amounted to 354,715 ounces, or about 11 tonnes. This comes from the Sabodala-Massawa and Mako industrial mines. The 2025 start of production at the Boto mine, operated by Morocco's Managem and capable of producing about 5 tonnes over the first three years of operation, will reinforce the impact of gold on extractive revenues. The expected rise in Senegalese gold production comes amid soaring prices. These prices increased by more than 60% in 2025 and could reach $5,000 per ounce in 2026.

A limited shift in the broader economy

While the 2025 EITI report is required to evaluate how the effects of increased production and gold prices translate into Senegal's extractive revenues, the contribution of the extractive sector to the national economy changed little in 2024.

The sector's share in exports went from 31.89% in 2023 to 31.38% a year later. The share in GDP grew to 4.95% compared with 4.72% in 2023. The extractive sector represents 0.74% of declared jobs compared with 0.16% in 2023. The share in state revenues rose from 9.40% in 2023 to 11.96% in 2024.

Seeking to strengthen the role of mining in the economy, the Senegalese government led by President Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko launched an audit of oil contracts and the mining sector. For the latter, results announced in September 2025 show several operators failed to meet tax obligations and that illegal sites had proliferated. Corrective measures are planned.

Emiliano Tossou