SOUTH AFRICA – The Africa Oil & Power will award Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal, with the prestigious “Africa Oil Man of the Year” award during conference be hosted October 9-11 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The President will be presented the award during the conference and will present the keynote address during the annual conference.
Senegal is a global hotspot for oil and gas discoveries — well-known as the place in Africa to make major oil and gas finds, due in large part to a decade-long campaign by Sall to improve transparency, create an attractive investment environment and spark new growth,” said a press release by Africa Oil & Power.
“As African countries across the continent aim to spur growth and diversify economically, Senegal is a prime example of a country making energy work — creating an enabling environment for business to succeed, attracting huge international investments, while providing for a strong local capacity and downstream investment options,” said Guillaume Doane, CEO of Africa Oil & Power.
“Sall is one of Africa’s top leaders, not just in oil and gas, but as an advocate for overall economic success. We are honored to present him this award.”
The Senegalese president first worked as the CEO of Petrosen from 2000 – 2001, before becoming the country’s Minister of Mines Energy and Hydraulics in 2001.
After a long political career in Senegal, he was elected president of Senegal in 2012, and pushed through a series of reforms to revive Senegal’s economy and attract international investors.
Today, Senegal has one of the fastest growing economies in the world and is the fastest growing economy in West Africa.
Sall has closely guided the development of two multi-billion-dollar oil projects off the coast of Senegal — the world-class SNE oilfield and the Greater Tortue/Ahmeyim gas project.
The Greater Tortue project reached FID in December of 2018, and has already awarded several initial contracts, including the EPCIC contract for the development of the needed FPSO to Technip for an estimated $500 million to $1billion.
The SNE oilfield is expected to reach FID this year. Both projects are scheduled to start producing export revenues in the early 2020s.
To ensure the country’s new oil revenue will directly benefit the country, Sall advocated for a new hydrocarbons code, which was approved by the national assembly this year, and he also created the agency Cos-Petrogaz to oversee the oil and gas sector and issue licenses.
Other reforms aimed at promoting transparency included limiting the presidential terms from seven years to five years, to be renewed once, and launching the Emerging Senegal Plan in 2014.
The October conference in Cape Town, has a theme of “Make Energy Work” that will focus on how oil, gas and power can generate greater opportunities for the people of African nations and stimulate sustainable economic growth.
