While Senegal’s extractive sector accounted for less than 7% of government revenues, it contributed 32% of total exports in 2022. Senegal is a leading producer of phosphates, with an annual production of 2.6 million tonnes in 2022. The country is also a modest but growing producer of gold, natural gas and construction materials.In 2018, Senegal and Mauritania reached a final investment decision with energy companies BP and Kosmos Energy for the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project, which is expected to produce 2.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas yearly for exports and 70 million cubic feet of natural gas per day for Senegal and Mauritania domestic uses.
Given the recent natural gas discoveries, Senegal is using its EITI implementation to inform relevant reforms including publication of oil and gas contracts. In addition to Senegal’s EITI multi-stakeholder group (MSG), parliamentarians established a Parliamentary Network on Transparency in 2014 to use EITI to improve transparency and public understanding of the management of natural resources.
In 2019-2020, Senegal set up a system of electronic declarations and a database for the extractive sector which comprises two interconnected systems linked to government platforms in place:
The platform FUSION2 which centralises financial data flows collected by public administrations.
The online data submission interface GovIn22 collects online declarations by extractive companies.
An information portal (Système d’Information Ouvert du Comité National ITIE Sénégal) publicly accessible.
In 2022, a law on local content considerations for the mining sector was adopted.
Extractive sector data
Production and exports
Revenue collection
Revenue distribution
Top paying companies
Extractive sector management
Tax and legal framework
The Ministry of Mines (MMG) is responsible for awarding, renewing and revoking exploration and exploitation licences (by decree). The licenses are awarded on a first come first serve basis. More detailed process descriptions for mining licenses and contracts are set out in the Procedures Manual by the MMG (March 2021).
Oil licences are granted either through a bidding process or direct consultation with the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and the state-owned oil company PETROSEN.
The Directorate General of Mining (DGM) manages the mining cadastre. The cadastre includes the following data points:
information on holders and applicants.
information on licences that have been applied for, are valid or have been cancelled.
control of (land) encroachments
the temporality of titles (renewal, expiry); and
the history of mining titles (recording of the various acts that modify the titles).
The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons manages the oil cadastre.
The Law n° 2012-22 on transparency and public financial management mandates the publication of mining contracts, and the mining and petroleum codes specify that mining, oil and gas contracts must be published in the government’s official journal. The government published mining and oil conventions, and EITI Senegal also publishes many mining and oil and gas contracts, which are also available on resourcecontracts.org.
Licenses and contracts
Mining licenses are awarded by the Ministry of Mines and Geology’s Directorate General of Miningon a first come first served basis. Oil licences are granted either by a bidding process or by direct consultation with the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and the state-owned oil company PETROSEN.
The Directorate General of Mining manages the mining cadastre, while the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons manages the oil cadastre. The registers are only accessible upon request, however the mining directorate provides map of mining permits on its website.
The Law n° 2012-22 on transparency and public financial management mandates the publication of mining contracts, and the mining and petroleum codes specify that mining, oil and gas contracts must be published in the government’s official journal. The government published mining and oil conventions, and EITI Senegal also publishes many mining and oil and gas contracts, which are also available on the Resource Contracts portal.
Beneficial ownership
The disclosure of beneficial owners is regulated by a decree of March 19, 2020. Beneficial ownership information is recorded in the commercial register (RCCM) and accessible upon request by relevant administrations and courts as well as by individuals demonstrating a legitimate interest.
The decree defines a beneficial owner as any individual holding an interest of 25% or more in a company, in line with the European Union’s Anti-Money Laundering Directive with a 25% threshold. In 2017, EITI Senegal published a study with a view to proposing legal reforms on beneficial ownership transparency.
In 2021, Senegal joined the Opening Extractives, a global programme that aims to improve the availability and use of beneficial ownership information.
The Directorate of Treasury and Public Accounts manages almost all extractive industry revenues in Senegal, although regional and municipal governments oversee small direct subnational revenues from the mining sector.
The 2016 Mining Code provides for the allocation of 20% of mining fees and royalties to a support and equalisation fund for local communities.
EITI implementation
Governance
EITI Senegal is administered by the Senegal Multi-Stakeholder Group (MGS), also known as the Comité national ITIE Sénégal (CN-ITIE). The MSG is chaired by Ms Oulimata Sarr.