The Senegalese government has set up a commission to examine contracts awarded to foreign investors in the raw materials sector and determine whether they comply with the laws of the West African country, said Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.

The committee, which includes oil, mining and tax experts, will examine the contracts and decide whether they need to be revised, Sonko said on Monday on state television in the capital Dakar. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye had declared the revision of the raw materials contracts a priority when he was elected in March.

The committee will “review the agreements and rebalance them to align them with Senegal’s interests,” Sonko said. “The idea was never to terminate the contracts or nationalize these resources, as some have suggested, but to ensure that they comply with Senegalese law.”

Senegal became an oil producer earlier this year with the start of production at the Sangomar offshore field operated by Woodside Energy Group Ltd. The country expects first gas from the $4.8 billion Grand Tortue Ahmeyim field operated by BP Plc in the fourth quarter of this year.

“We intend to examine the shortcomings, weaknesses and other imbalances in the implementation of these treaties to determine whether a revision is necessary,” said Commission President Ibrahima Diop.

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