Sierra Leone Deepwater Licences Extended

Oslo-listed small explorer, African Petroleum Corp, said December 5 that it has signed agreements with Sierra Leone's petroleum directorate to enter into the second extension periods of the SL-03 and SL-4A-10 licences respectively and to modify work programmes for both licences during these periods.

The Second Extension Period will expire on April 23 2019 for SL-03 and September 17 2019 for SL-4A-10, if it commits, prior to November 1 2018, to drill one exploration well on each licence. Both are ultra-deep licences with water depth of between 3,000 and 3,600 metres.  In accordance with licence conditions, African Petroleum has relinquished 50% of the SL-03 licence area, reducing the licence area from 1,930 km² to 962 km², and 50% of the SL-4A-10 licence area, reducing the licence area from 1,995 km² to 995km².

The entry into the next licence periods and the licence amendments were ratified by the west African state's parliament on December 4, said African Petroleum. It added that it has been working with contractor ERC Equipoise to re-assess prospective oil resources on both licences through the inclusion of two new material prospects Leo and Vega, prospective resources for which will be published shortly.

African Petroleum CEO Jens Pace, comments: "We believe negotiations were helped by the fact that we have been active in the country since 2010 and have invested in excess of $39mn in the two licences to date. Based on recent discussions we have held with industry players, we are aware of an increased appetite for material ultra-deep offshore opportunities."

The company, part-owned by Romanian-Australian businessman Frank Timis, was denied the opportunity to extend its licences offshore Gambia, further north offshore west Africa.