Sierra Leone Invites Investors to EnSierra Leone Invites Investors to Invest in African Energy Receptiongage Licensing Round Invest in African Energy Reception Licensing Round

Director General of the Sierra Leone Petroleum Authority Fode B.L. Mansaray urged investors to maximize the country’s production potential during Invest in African Energy reception in London on Thursday hosted by the African Energy Chamber (www.EnergyChamber.org). Having launched its fifth round of licensing last May, Sierra Leone is (seeking to advance its nascent oil and gas sector by offering more than 63,000 square kilometers of highly prospective acres that the Petroleum Authority has invited investors to participate in through blocks and technical data). .

This West African country is home to an active oil and gas system that has been supported by small oil and gas discoveries, including Anadarko’s Venus-B1, Mercury-1 and Jupiter-1 wells and Lukoil’s Savannah-1X well. Oil and gas exploration in the country began almost four decades ago with the drilling of two exploration wells (but was suspended around 2015/2016).

For its part, the Sierra Leone Petroleum Authority is acting on a mandate to unlock the full potential of its national hydrocarbon resources by guiding the exploration and production of affordable, reliable and clean energy in Sierra Leone. In an effort to attract investors, Mansaray said that Sierra Leone offers access to acreage, competitive financial terms, transparent and stable government, high-quality reprocessed data and associated world-class discoveries.

“Investor reaction [to our fifth licensing round] was excellent and is one of the reasons we extended the deadline. We like to think of international oil companies as partners rather than investors. We are trying to integrate into their activities. We have tried to eliminate bureaucracy. Currently, it takes 85 days from filing an application to obtaining a license,” Mansaray said.

The Sierra Leone Petroleum Authority recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Angola National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency to establish a common commitment to develop and enhance cooperation in the oil and gas sector. The Memorandum of Understanding outlined opportunities for bilateral trade and investment; position oil and gas cooperation as mutually beneficial in economic, technological, social and environmental terms for both countries; and reaffirm closer economic, cultural and social ties between Angola and Sierra Leone.