Senegal Ministry denies Yakaar-Teranga gas field sale to Eni

Senegal’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has issued a formal denial regarding rumors that the strategic Yakaar-Teranga gas field was sold or undervalued in favor of the Italian company Eni.

The Ministry clarified that a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Eni does not involve the Yakaar-Teranga field. Instead, the agreement allows Eni to conduct preliminary geological and geophysical studies at its own expense across five specific offshore blocks: SN01M (Saint-Louis Offshore Shallow), SN02M (Cayar Offshore Shallow), SN03M (Rufisque Offshore), SN07M (Saint-Louis Offshore Deep), and SN40M (Senegal Offshore South Deep).

Authorities emphasized that Yakaar-Teranga is located within block SN08M, which is not included in the agreement. The Ministry further stated that maps circulating on social media to support claims of a sale are obsolete, factually incorrect working versions that do not reflect the current national petroleum domain mapping. The MoU does not grant Eni any exploration or exploitation rights, nor any ownership of the resources in those areas.