Senegal begins domestic oil refining for first time
New oil producer Senegal has begun producing various fuels in its own refinery near the capital Dakar, the company behind it said on Thursday.
Although the African Refinery Company (SAR) was created in 1961, it is the first time that it is refining domestically produced oil, having only handled imported oil until now.
SAR "is proud to announce that it has successfully refined the first crude oil produced in Senegal, the Sangomar", named after the offshore oil production site in west-central Senegal, the company said in a statement.
"After a successful processing with satisfactory results, the materials we have produced, such as heating oil and diesel, are now on their way to dedicated storage areas."
The company said they had refined 650,000 barrels of crude oil since Saturday, which had in turn produced 90,000 tonnes of various products, including diesel, kerosene, petrol and butane gas.
Senegal began producing oil in June in the Sangomar oil field, where the Australian group Woodside Energy operates.
The country also became a gas producer at the end of December, which it shares with Mauritania, on the maritime border between the two countries.
Oil and gas production in Senegal will lead to exports and domestic consumption, but is far off the levels reached by global and African producers such as Nigeria.
However, billions of dollars are expected in revenue, as well as an accelerated transformation of the economy.
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