Senegal Raises Stake of State Oil Company Under New Code

DAKAR (Capital Markets in Africa)  – Senegal’s National Assembly approved a new oil code as a string of major discoveries off its coast are expected to make the West African nation an oil exporter in coming years.

The code increases the stake of state-run oil company Petrosen to as much 30 percent in new projects, Oil Ministry spokesman Barthelemy Sene said by text message in response to questions Monday. It will apply fixed percentages for royalties depending on the nature of the project, he said.

The code, which was adopted Jan. 24, comes as explorers including BP Plc and FAR Ltd. are expected to make investment decisions this year. The government has pledged to use a third of income from future oil and gas sales to boost its budget and reduce growing public debt.

Source: Bloomberg Business News