Oil & pipeline theft: Senegal
Senegal's emergence as an offshore oil and gas producer brings new infrastructure (platforms, pipelines and export points) that must be protected against theft, tapping and sabotage from the outset. Building that protection in early is easier than retrofitting it after losses mount.
Revenue to protect from the first barrel
Tapping, illicit transfer and sabotage of oil and gas infrastructure drain national revenue and cause environmental damage. Persistent overhead surveillance detects illegal connections and anomalous vessel movements around offshore facilities, while control-system hardening protects the production and export network itself. For a new producer, establishing that picture early means the infrastructure is defended before theft becomes entrenched.
Offshore assets in busy, contested waters
What distinguishes Senegal's problem is that its energy assets sit offshore in the same Atlantic waters already worked by illegal fishing, smuggling and trafficking, so oil-infrastructure protection is inseparable from the wider maritime domain awareness the coast needs. Satellite vessel monitoring ties the energy picture to that broader surveillance, avoiding duplicated systems. Because the sensing is non-aligned, the picture of Senegal's new revenue stream stays in national hands.
How engagement works in Senegal
As an independent, non-aligned prime vendor, Unstrat provides one accountable team, end-use certified systems and in-region sustainment. Offshore energy protection usually shares sensing with maritime security, so a programme is scoped to serve both from one picture. The non-aligned position matters as Senegal builds a sovereign energy sector. The means of protecting it should answer to national command, not a foreign supplier.
Protecting a new revenue stream from the first barrel
For a new producer, engagement begins with a briefing on sequencing protection early, around the platforms, pipelines and export points before theft, tapping or sabotage becomes entrenched. Because persistent overhead surveillance and control-system hardening are controlled goods, export clearances and end-use approvals are confirmed before any representation of the manufacturers is made. Capability is matched to the operators' real conditions: offshore assets sitting in the same Atlantic waters already worked by illegal fishing, smuggling and trafficking. A programme is scoped to share sensing with maritime security so one investment serves both, fielded in phases and sustained in-region so the advantage endures. Localisation arrangements are scoped per programme, subject to export controls and end-use approvals. The mission is to defend a sovereign energy sector under national command as it is built.
Relevant capability
Adjacent priorities in Senegal
Power grids, water systems and transport networks face both physical and cyber attack. Hardening the control systems behind them, defending the networks around them and countering the drone threat above them keeps essential services running under pressure.
Problem pageUnlicensed extraction strips national resources, funds armed groups and devastates the environment. Satellite change detection and persistent aerial surveillance locate illegal sites and monitor remediation, directing enforcement teams to the ground that is actually changing.
Problem pageSenegal loses customs revenue to contraband, fuel and untaxed goods that move across its many land borders and through its coastal approaches wherever surveillance is thinnest. Sharing frontiers with five neighbours multiplies the routes traffickers can use.
Problem pageRelevant solutions
Power, water, transport and port systems assessed, hardened and watched continuously, by a team with no foreign government to report the findings to.
Solution page →Persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance across land, sea and air, tasked on national priorities and accountable to the flag that owns it.
Solution page →Senegal: security context
Senegal's Atlantic frontage shapes its priorities: protecting fisheries and its exclusive economic zone, securing offshore energy, and watching its borders. It is an environment where economic assets at sea and security interests are closely intertwined.
One accountable, non-aligned partner gives Senegal a coherent counterpart for that capability: fisheries and EEZ protection, offshore energy security and border surveillance through a single channel. A security agency gains end-use certified equipment, in-region support and localisation arrangements scoped per programme.
About this challenge
Tapping, bunkering and sabotage of oil infrastructure drain national revenue and cause environmental damage. Persistent overhead surveillance detects illegal connections and vessel movements, while control-system hardening protects the pipeline network itself.
Frequently asked questions
How does surveillance protect Senegal's offshore energy assets?
Persistent overhead surveillance detects illegal connections and anomalous vessel movements around platforms and export points, while control-system hardening protects the production network itself. Establishing this early defends the infrastructure before theft becomes entrenched. We would welcome the chance to brief your team on sequencing that protection.
Can energy protection share systems with maritime security?
Yes, and off Senegal it should. The offshore assets sit in the same waters as illegal fishing, smuggling and trafficking, so satellite vessel monitoring serves energy protection and maritime security from one picture.
Who controls the picture of Senegal's energy infrastructure?
Senegal does. The systems come from independent, non-aligned makers, so the surveillance and hardening of a new sovereign revenue stream stays accountable to national command rather than a foreign supplier.