Algerian state-owned group Sonelgaz and Senegal’s national electricity company Senelec signed a memorandum of understanding in Algiers on October 3, 2026, to organise cooperation in the electricity sector. The agreement opens a framework for dialogue between the operators and forms part of closer energy ties between Algiers and Dakar. Algeria said it was ready to support Senegal’s Gas to Power strategy, which aims to use its gas resources to generate electricity. Signing nevertheless constitutes neither a construction contract nor a supply commitment: specific projects remain to be defined.
The memorandum was signed by Nabil Kafi, Sonelgaz’s acting chief executive, and Gaye Toby, Senelec’s chief executive. The ceremony took place under the supervision of the two countries’ energy ministers, Mourad Adjal for Algeria and El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf for Senegal. This ministerial representation gives the agreement political significance, but implementation will now depend on technical teams’ work and investment decisions by the states and companies.
The announced scope includes several possible areas: knowledge sharing, training, technical assistance and cooperation in electricity generation, transmission and distribution. Sonelgaz has integrated experience across several parts of the electricity chain. Senelec manages a system that must accommodate rising demand, new power plants and changes in Senegal’s energy mix. Skills sharing could concern planning, grid operation, equipment maintenance or project management.
Gas to Power provides an important link between Senegal’s energy priorities and Algerian expertise. Senegal has begun producing gas through offshore project development, notably off Saint-Louis and Dakar. Using this resource for electricity could support national generation and reduce dependence on certain imported fuels. Converting gas into electricity nevertheless requires a complete chain: available volumes, supply contracts, processing facilities, pipelines or logistics solutions, suitable power plants and grid connections.
These components advance on different timetables. A discovered or producing gas resource does not automatically become gas available to power plants. Volumes must be allocated between exports, domestic consumption and industrial needs. Plants must be built or converted, and electricity networks must transport the power produced to consumption centres. Gas availability and prices will therefore directly affect generation costs and customer tariffs.
The memorandum can help identify where cooperation is most useful, but does not yet specify a financed project, investment amount or operational timetable. To turn the institutional framework into results, the parties must select measurable priorities. An initial step could involve assessing training needs, exchanging technical data or assisting operational planning. Major investments, such as a power plant or transmission line, would subsequently require feasibility studies, financing and specific agreements.
Senegal must also ensure gas and electricity projects fit long-term grid planning. Gas-fired electricity can provide flexible generation and complement variable renewable energy. It can also prolong exposure to fossil fuels if it becomes the dominant response to demand growth. Infrastructure choices must therefore consider costs, emissions, equipment life and complementarity with solar, wind and regional hydropower.
For Algeria, closer ties offer an opportunity to strengthen partnerships between African state-owned companies and put electricity sector expertise to use. For Senelec, the benefits will depend on Sonelgaz’s ability to provide expertise suited to local needs and contribute to economically sustainable solutions. South-South cooperation takes concrete form when it develops national skills, facilitates technology access and produces verifiable reliability or cost improvements.
Partnership governance will matter as much as announcements. A work timetable, clearly assigned responsibilities and outcome indicators would help distinguish diplomatic exchanges from operational projects. Knowledge transfer can take the form of certified training, temporary secondments or joint teams addressing specific grid problems.
Subsequent announcements must specify the joint work programme, training areas, potential projects and financing mechanisms. An additional intergovernmental agreement was discussed to continue talks, but had not yet been signed when the memorandum was announced. Monitoring will therefore focus on formal decisions that turn this intention into projects. Signing is an institutional starting point; impact will be measured in electricity capacity, transferred skills and costs borne by Senegal’s system.