Guet Ndar, Senegal (AP) – A gas platform is prominently visible off the northern coast of Senegal, with its flare stack burning continuously on a rolling breaker.
The Natural Gas Project, a collaboration between British energy titan BP and US-based Kosmos Energy, commenced operations on the last day of 2024, aiming to generate employment for the densely populated fishing community of Guet Ndar, located near the historic colonial capital of St. Louis.
Africa’s most advanced gas extraction facility is set to aid in revitalizing Senegal’s stagnant economy following the discovery made over a decade ago of oil and gas off the country’s coast. The first offshore oil initiative also kicked off last year.
Fishermen claim the project is stealing their livelihoods
Mariam Suu, one of the few remaining vendors in the old fish market, noted that the downturn started in 2020 when the platform emerged from the sea.
“This market was bustling every day,” Sow pointed to an empty lot. Hundreds of unused boats now populate the nearby beaches.
Fishing is integral to life along the Senegalese coast, employing over 600,000 people, as reported by the US Department of Agriculture. According to Think Tank Chatham House, the nation exported $500 million worth of fish in 2022, based on international trade statistics.
What does the gas project entail?
The Grand Tortue Ahmeyim project will harvest gas from both Senegal and its neighboring Mauritania. BP estimates that the sector could yield 2.3 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas annually.
Last year, Senegal was chosen, and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye ran on a platform advocating for the redistribution of the country’s natural resources, including renegotiating what he terms unfair contracts with foreign companies to ensure that revenues are shared with the populace.
“I will ensure transparency regarding the effective ownership of extraction companies during audits of the mining, oil, and gas sectors,” he declared in his inaugural speech. It remains unclear whether efforts to renegotiate the contract have begun and if they will include the gas project.
Fishermen in Guet Ndar assert that the benefits promised by the project and the Senegalese government have yet to materialize. The cost of living continues to soar, with prices for natural gas, the country’s primary cooking source, still climbing. The reduction in gas prices was pitched as a major advantage of the gas projects.
Mohamed Sow, a shopkeeper in Dakar, mentioned that his customers are frustrated that the 12-liter gas canister has increased from 5,000 CFA ($8.50) to 8,000 CFA ($13.80) over the past few years.
“It’s impossible to maintain these prices,” he lamented.
The Senegalese government has not responded to requests for comment.
The fishing community close to the project has noticed troubling signs.
A leak that delayed operations for weeks
Shortly after the gas project began production, fishermen observed numerous bubbles in the water. BP attributed this to a temporary gas leak that “did not have any immediate impact on ongoing production activities from the remaining wells.”
The leak took several weeks to resolve. BP did not disclose how much mainly methane gas escaped into the ocean or the cause of the leak early in the project.
In a written response, BP stated, “The environmental impact of the release was deemed negligible.”
Conversely, environmental group Greenpeace characterized the effects of such a spill on the ecosystem as significant.
“The GTA Field is home to the world’s largest deep-sea coral reef, a unique ecosystem. A single spill can obliterate decades of marine biodiversity, taint food chains, and devastate habitats,” the organization remarked.
Mama de Sarle, head of the St. Louis Fishermen’s Union, shared his concerns while sitting outside the fish cooling unit constructed with BP to foster community relations.
Sarr insisted that fish are becoming scarcer as they are drawn to the platform, moving away from the coral reefs that Guet Ndar residents have fished for generations.
In the sand, he illustrated how fish, attracted by the project’s lights and underwater structures, have abandoned their previous “homes.” Areas adjacent to the platform are now restricted for fishermen.
Sarr also noted that the artificial reefs being built by BP are situated along the route taken by fish.
The life of a fisherman
A fisherman named Abdu showcased his catch after two days at sea, displaying two insulated boxes filled with fish, each roughly the size of an oil drum. One box nets 15,000 CFA, or $26.
Before the gas project, he recounted averaging four or five boxes per two-day trip; now receiving two is considered a victory.
This situation will worsen any already existing issues stemming from overfishing by foreign vessels.
BP emphasized ongoing face-to-face consultations with community members regarding these issues and highlighted community projects such as local microfinance and vocational training programs.
Sarle mentioned that despite promises, the government did not take his community’s needs into account when finalizing the gas project.
“This is our land and our sea. Why aren’t we given a voice?” he questioned.
He and others sarcastically urged people not to open the refrigerated unit beside them, stressing that whatever benefits were meant for the community are “somewhere in Dakar,” as locals claim they have never seen them.
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