Sierra Leone signed a $225 million offshore petroleum licence agreement with Nigeria-based Marginal Energy Limited. The deal grants exploration and production rights for five offshore blocks in the country’s largely under-explored upstream sector.
Exceeds $225 million committed to seismic and drilling programmes.
Five offshore blocks (G-145, G-146, G-147, G-160, and G-161) spanning approx. 6,800 sq km.
10% carried interest for the state in oil projects.
5% carried interest in gas projects during exploration/development.
9% additional option for the state to buy into production on a paid basis.
Formalised at the Invest in African Energy conference in Paris.
The agreement is part of a broader government push to revive interest in Sierra Leone’s “frontier basin”. It follows other recent developments in the sector, including a reconnaissance permit signed with Shell to conduct geological surveys across 19 other offshore blocks.
Note by Alessandro Bazzoni