Backing Senegal Business

The company has launched the first tender opportunity through a pioneering procurement portal called African Partner Pool (APP).

APP is operated by Invest in Africa (IIA) a not for profit organisation, which helps small and medium African enterprises gain access and opportunities to tender and engage in the oil and gas industry. 

Supporting IIA’s establishment in Senegal was an opportunity for Woodside to enhance local content opportunities for the SNE Field Development, which is positioned to be the Senegal’s first offshore oil development. Woodside has a 35% share in the development, which is targeting first oil in 2022 and final investment decision later this year.

The APP connects project owners with suppliers which have been pre-registered and are supported by IIA to be in a position to tender for opportunities. The portal was first used in Ghana and Kenya.

SNE local content is an all of project approach with involvement from Corporate Affairs, Contracting and Procurement (C&P) and Technology.

Senior C&P manager Simon Stanton explains that creating local content is consistent with our Compass values, and the IIA initiative was funded by Woodside as a social investment initiative.

“Working with IIA and engaging with local vendors through the APP gives us an opportunity to reach out to the Senegalese supply chain and show genuine commitment to engage the local market,” Simon points out.

“IIA will work with us to make the supply of goods and services to projects such as SNE more accessible for local Senegalese suppliers.”

Graduate C&P advisers James Nicholson and Meg Isabella Hewett are two Woodsiders involved with the launch of the portal, and Simon says this initiative has ignited their enthusiasm.

“I’m excited about this tool myself but when you have someone just starting out in their career and ask them to run a tender in West Africa for one of our growth projects, using a business to business tool in conjunction with a not-for-profit organisation, they can’t wait to get involved,” Simon says.

Says James: “It has been thoroughly rewarding to work on a project that will provide tangible local content opportunities to Senegalese businesses, moving rapidly from idea to action.” 

The Senegalese Government recently decreed that procuring goods and services for the oil and gas industry must be conducted through an electronic platform, so being the first mover in the IIA portal has provided an advantage.

“To see IIA roll out its programme and work with Woodside to get local companies on board to help bring a new industry into the local economy is very pleasing to the Senegalese Government and the private,” says Senegal country representative Cheikh Gueye.

As the SNE Development progresses , the opportunities for local businesses to be engaged by Woodside and other contractors will grow, and IIA will also help address challenges faced.

With more contracts being rolled out by Woodside in anticipation of final investment decision in 2019, the teams in Perth and Dakar are working with IIA to maximise local content on SNE. 

Read the full Q2 2019 issue of Trunkline here.