Cote d'Ivoire Opens Mainly Onshore Round
Ivorian oil minister Thierry Tanoh announced the launch of a new licensing round for 22 blocks for oil and gas exploration, while Sierra Leone has signaled plans for a round next year. The Cote d'Ivoire round comprises 21 onshore blocks but only one offshore block, said Tanoh October 25
His announcement comes after Tullow Oil two weeks ago was awarded a 90% stake in the CI518, CI519, CI301 and CI302 onshore blocks covering a total area of 5,035 km2 that are situated near the coast, west of Abidjan. These two events reflect the Ivorian government’s will to ramp-up its oil and gas outputs, by 2020, after it lost a three-year maritime dispute to Ghana concerning an area where the Tullow-operated TEN offshore oil fields are located.
“There is no time limit on the round but the government wanted to carry it out quickly and efficiently,” he said, adding that if a company expresses interest in a block, the government will initiate talks with that firm, with a tender to be held if multiple firms express interest for the same block.
Currently, the country produces 240mn ft3/d gas, and 40,000 b/d of oil -- the latter which it hopes to increase to 200,000 b/d by 2020.
Sierra Leone 'pre-announcement'
At this week's Africa Oil Week Conference in Cape Town, the director general of the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone (PDSL), Raymond Kargbo, said that his country's 4th Offshore Petroleum Licensing Round will take place between mid-January and late May 2018. Interested parties are invited to contact either Kargbo himself (raymond.kargbo@pd.gov.sl) or its adviser John Clark at ERCL (info@ercl.com).
Olivier de Souza