Under the theme ‘Innovative Strategies for Socioeconomic Growth,’ day two of the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2021 Conference and Exhibition, held in Dakar, Senegal, on 17 December, featured a panel discussion with speakers including Aguibou Ba, Director General of the Institut National du Pétrole et du Gas (INPG); Mor Ndiaye Mbaye, Technical Secretariat for Le Comité National de Suivi du Contenu Local (CNSCL); Jean-Noël B. Makaya, Director General for Structures en Acier et Services (SAS) Senegal; and Alisdair Duncan, Senegal Country Manager for global integrated logistics and materials management company, ASCO, and was moderated by Energy Capital & Power Field Editor, Miguel Artacho.

With innovative strategies being highlighted as imperative for ensuring the longevity of West Africa’s energy sector, nations within the MSGBC region have begun to implement policies to promote local content development and regional capacity building, strengthening the future of the industry.

“Even with a nascent industry, we have already seen important developments in the sector in Senegal, where high levels of capabilities are already available. We can see that by the fact that we have two rigs operating in the country operated completely by Senegalese people, working with Fortesa. This is a great sign of growth in local capacity,” stated Serigne Mboup, Chairman at CEL Senegal SAS.

With the prospect of significant gas revenues promoting the implementation of regional gas-to-power frameworks aimed at fueling the region’s growing demand for energy, identifying and avoiding inefficient local content strategies was highlighted as a pre-requisite for countries seeking to deliver the most sustainable and effective ways for the industry to move forward and drive socioeconomic growth. While the MSGBC region transitions into a new era of industry expansion, empowering local content development and enhancing the domestic natural gas market have been noted as imperative to driving investment and supporting energy growth.

“Today we have developed the logistical capability that will be able to serve the IOCs in the country. Since the great discoveries of 2014, the local market has followed and grown with the needs of the international companies in order to respond locally to world class needs. That is what allows us today to have such strong participation in projects such as GTA and Sangomar, particularly in logistics,” added Amadou Sakhir Gaye, CEO of Sentrak Logistics.

It was noted during the discussion that bridging the gap between local capacity and the expectations for a thriving energy industry will serve to boost the competitiveness of the regional industry while providing greater opportunities for local consumers.

“The oil and gas industry is its own world and sets its own standards and its the application of those standards that is particularly challenging. There has been a big focus here in promoting and creating companies that can respond to those standards, both through education plans but also through regulation that has helped create jobs at the many levels of specialism that the industry demands, ”highlighted Alisdair Duncan, Country Manager, ASCO Senegal*

Closing the session, the panel provided insight into how local content policies may serve to facilitate the broader integration of women into the workforce while contributing to their empowerment, supporting a more inclusive era within the industry.

“It is fundamental to design the structures of local content around a strong legal framework, based on a capable and well-informed political will. We managed to develop that in the Congo, but it has become very apparent that regulation itself is not sufficient and that a very dedicated and empowered effort needs to be made by the regulators to impose those rules on the private companies, promoting them to find local solutions where they did not exist before,” concluded Jean-Noël B. Makaya, Directeur Général, SAS Senegal.