JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - EQS - 18June 2019 - The African Energy Chamber rejects the accusations madeby the recent BBC Panorama program on Senegal and believes this case is about a sinister rush to judgment, an obsession totaint a reform-driven President and the oil industry at any cost and by any means,and certainly without an understanding of the facts and how the oil industryworks.

It is important that in this rush to judgment,truth and an understanding of the oil industry should be the number onepriority rather than overlooking and manufacturing evidence.

Asper the Senegalese Petroleum Code, BP's acquisition of the blocks is well inline with the current tendering processes applied in Senegal. Prior to its acquisitionof the Cayar Profond and St Louis Profond offshore concessions, BP conductedextensive and appropriate due diligences to ascertain the ownership andoperation of the block. This was the same with Kosmos Energy.

Takinginto consideration BP and Kosmos Energy's strong compliance practices and adherenceto the U.S Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K Anti-Bribery andCorruption Act, it is unthinkable that  thateither company would move ahead with the deals if there were any implication ofwrong doing in the award of the licenses. Kosmos Energy conducted a veryintensive  due diligence,  which it sent to the  to the U.S Securities and Exchange Commissionfor vetting and no wrongdoing was found.

Finally,all due processes were adhered to and the initial award of the block was madeprior to President Macky Sall being elected President, and all investigationsconducted by various Senegalese regulators revealed that all transactions wereabove board.

 "President Macky Sall  has been a  reformer and pushed through market-drivenpolicies that have made the future of Senegal's oil industry a bright one andpeople-centered one," stated NJ Ayuk, CEO of Centurion Law Group and ExecutiveChairman of the African Energy Chamber.

"Senegalat this moment must not be deprived from the millions of jobs that its oilsector will bring to the country. These attacks are meant to slow investmentinto oil industry's projects and investment into Senegal," added Ayuk.

TheSenegalese people should not be fooled and we need to move away from rhetoricto relevance, symbols to substance, populism and charisma to characterthat provide pragmatic common-sense solutions to many who expect more from Senegal's's oil and gas sector. Senegal is lucky to have leadership that have a clearvision with an understanding of the success and mistakes of other African producerslike Nigeria, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Angola and Congo amongothers.  

Theoil industry is about risk. People who take risk need to be compensated. BP andKosmos Energy are strong companies with great plans for Senegal, and very goodtrack records in doing business in Africa. It is unfair for them to bedemonized in this fashion when all the facts are not reviewed.

Throughtheir investments in the energy sector and the reforms by President Macky Sall,oil and gas production over the next 10 years would inject billions of dollarsinto the Senegalese economy and support more than 1 million jobs. In thisregard, it is important that smart, pro-growth policies continue to beimplemented to ensure growth.