In light of key petroleum discoveries offshore, Senegal has taken into account the growing importance of logistics across its petroleum value chain, with private players and government working in tandem to develop a local workforce that is ready for first oil production in 2022/2023.
Logistics is an integral component of a prosperous national energy sector, yet it is sometimes left behind in terms of regulation reforms, investment and manpower development. However, thanks to the National Oil and Gas Institute and various programs that have been launched in Senegal since the country’s major discoveries were made, Senegal is currently shaping its workforce to be able to provide energy logistics ahead of first oil production.
To effectively handle production starting in 2022/2023, it will be necessary for Senegalese companies to implement skill transfer models and create partnerships with more experienced, international players. In terms of human resources, Senegal is a long-established leader within the region in the maritime field, specifically in fishery activities. However, hydrocarbons necessitate specific skills that are currently under-represented in the local population. In 2015, Dakar’s business school, SupDeCo, launched the first ever master’s degree in petroleum logistics. The National Petroleum Institute, inaugurated in 2018, will also train professionals with the technical knowledge needed to operate within the industry.
The dynamism of Senegal’s logistics sector is confirmed by the increased interest received from both African and foreign logistics players, with Senegal playing host to a number of newcomers. Bollore Africa Logistics is the largest company in the sector and owns major operations in the ports of Dakar, Nouakchott and Conakry. Bollore boasts decades of experience operating within the oil and gas industry throughout the region. Other logistics heavyweights are present in Dakar and across the basin, such as CMA-CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and DB Schenker. Local players such as Maritalia have the competitive advantage of meeting local content goals and possessing a complex understanding of the local challenges. Finally, smaller, more reactive players like LSCM aim to play a role in disrupting the market through the use of innovative technologies.
The petroleum wharf located at the Port de Dakar in the center of the capital has been entrusted to the Belgian operator SEA INVEST for a period of 25 years. Located in the northern area of the Port of Dakar, the wharf was built in 1954 and has been the subject of several studies and expert reports for its reconstruction. Its new reconfiguration offers an available living area of 8,000m² and a commercial depth of -12m compared to the hydrographic reference zero.
Meanwhile, Dubai Ports World is investing $30 million in the ‘Port of the Future’ in Ndayane, 50 km from Dakar. Scheduled to start operations in 2023, it will feature a 20 m draught and will have the capacity to manage 1.5 million containers per year. Since 2008, DPW Dakar, a local subsidiary of DPW, has owned the concession for the container terminal of the Port of Dakar, located at the city center.
Mauritania’s Port de l’Amitie, in Nouakchott, features the advantage of having experience in handling oil logistics thanks to the Chinguetti field, which has been operational since 2004. In November 2018, ARISE-Mauritanie SA, a consortium run by Singapore-based agribusiness giant Olam, was awarded a 30-year concession to build an oil terminal in the port of Nouakchott, as well as an additional container terminal.
