The fuel system off the northern Senegal coast is unmissable, say the GUET NDAR. Its burst load burns above the rolling breakers all day and night. The natural oil project, a joint venture between US-based Kosmos Energy and American energy monopoly BP, began operation on the last day of 2024. It is intended to create employment in Guet Ndar, a fishing area that is rife with people who live nearby Saint Louis’s former colonial money. The deepest oil extraction plant in Africa, which is the largest, is intended to transform Senegal’s sluggish economy following the discovery of oil and gas off the nation’s coastline just over ten years ago. The second offshore oil job even started last year. Fishermen claim that the task is destroying their lives Mariam Sow, one of the few remaining buyers in the once-thriving seafood business, said the drop started in 2020 when the program started rising from the water. As she glared at the desolate lot, Sow said,” This business used to be full every day. The local shore is currently occupied by thousands of abandoned boats. In southern Senegal, hunting is a major part of life. According to the US Department of Agriculture, it employs more than 600,000 individuals. According to consider pond Chatham House, the nation exported almost half a billion dollars worth of seafood in 2022, citing global business data. What’s the purpose of the oil job? The Grand Tortue Ahmeyim task intends to eke out gas from Senegal and Mauritania. The field was generate 2.3 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually, according to BP. Senegal elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye past month despite having run against an establishment candidate. He pledged to make the most of the nation’s natural sources, including renegotiating what he termed cruel deals with foreigners and distributing government revenues. In his first address, he said,” I will move forward with the assessment of the miners, crude, and gas sector and the reporting of the effective ownership of extractive companies.” It was unclear whether attempts to renegotiate contracts had already begun or whether the oil project would be included. The project’s promise to the fishing of Guet Ndar and the state of Senegal have not been realized. The cost of living is still higher, and the cost of cooking in Senegal with natural oil is also rising. The fuel project’s main selling point was lower fuel prices. Customers complain that a 12-liter gas canister has fallen from 5, 000 CFA ( USD 8.50 ) to 8, 000 CFA ( USD 13.80 ) in the last few years, according to Mohamed Sow, a shopkeeper in Dakar. He claimed that it was “impossible to preserve raising the price.” The Senegalese authorities did not respond to requests for comment. The fish area close to the project claims to have seen more indications of trouble. A hole that took weeks to fix Shortly after the fuel site’s production began, fishermen reported seeing numerous bubbles in the sea. A momentary oil hole, according to BP, “had no immediate effect on ongoing creation activities from the remaining reservoirs.” It took weeks to fix the hole. BP did not disclose how much oil, generally gas, leaked into the ocean or what led to a leak thus early in the new task. Given the “low charge” of release, BP responded to written inquiries by saying” the environmental impact of the transfer was assessed as small.” But, Greenpeace, an organization dedicated to protecting the environment, criticized the effects of these overflows. The largest deep-water coral reef in the world, which is a special habitat, can be found in the GTA field. A second flow could sever decades of aquatic biodiversity, contaminate food chains, and end habitat, according to a statement from the organization. Mamadou Sarr, the leader of the Saint Louis fishery union, spoke about the problems while sat outside a BP-built and labelled fish cooling system intended to promote community relationships. Sarr claimed that bass have decreased in quantity as a result of their attraction to the system and the numerous reefs that the Guet Ndar population had fished for a long time. He explained how the fish no longer attend their former “homes,” as depicted in his sand-drawing drawings. Sailors are prohibited from fishing in the areas around the websites. Additionally, Sarr claimed that ships that routinely visit the institutions pass through an artificial coral that BP is building, preventing the fish from entering. A sailor’s existence One man, Abdou, showed off his capture after two days at sea: two covered boxes full of fish, each about the size of an oil disc. A package of fish finds 15, 000 CFA, or USD 26. He claimed that he would receive four or five containers per two-day vacation prior to the oil job. Today, getting two is a gain. That only adds to the issue that has already been caused by foreign warships ‘ excessive fishing. BP noted that there are continuous face-to-face discussions with members of the community about these issues and noted that there are community-facing initiatives like finance and technical education programs in the area. Sarr claimed that the government sided with his group when approving the gas project despite its promises. Why can’t we have a speech because this is our land and sea? he inquired. Ironically, he and others claimed that they couldn’t access the refrigerator second to them. The solution is” there in Dakar,” according to Sarr, and citizens claim they have never seen anything inside it.
