In the coastal town of Guet Ndar, Senegal’s newest natural gas venture -the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim project- has ignited fears among fishermen who say their livelihoods are vanishing.
Launched in late 2024 by BP and Kosmos Energy, the offshore platform promised to revitalise Senegal’s economy and reduce gas prices. Instead, residents claim it has driven fish away, increased the cost of living, and left promises of local employment and affordable gas unfulfilled. Boats now lie idle, and the once-thriving fish market is nearly deserted.
Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, elected on a wave of populist sentiment, pledged to renegotiate contracts with foreign firms to ensure resource wealth benefits all Senegalese. Yet locals say little has changed. A leak from the platform earlier this year worsened tensions. Although BP downplayed its environmental impact, Greenpeace warned of serious damage to deep-water coral reefs and marine biodiversity. Fishermen say their traditional reefs are now deserted as fish cluster near the off-limits gas infrastructure.
Community leaders feel betrayed, accusing the government of excluding them from critical decisions about their ancestral waters. Even the BP-sponsored fish refrigeration unit—meant to symbolise cooperation—sits unused, its key lost in Dakar. Despite corporate social programmes, many in Guet Ndar feel abandoned. “This is our land and sea,” says union leader Mamadou Sarr. “Why don’t we get a voice?” As Senegal pushes forward with its energy ambitions, its fishing communities are left navigating a tide of economic and ecological uncertainty.