The government of Sierra Leone has announced to extend the close date of the country’s fourth licensing round to 27 September 2018, which is being supported by the UK-based natural resource exploration expert Getech Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiary ERCL
In line with Africa’s growing momentum to explore more oil and gas potential throughout the continent, Raymond Kargbo, director general at Sierra Leone Petroleum Directorate, announced a fourth licensing round for offshore blocks in October 2017.
In the initial announcement, the bids were scheduled to be accepted between 15 January 2018 and 31 May 2018.
The round offers five contract areas featuring a new block system including the areas of undeveloped oil and gas discoveries from previous drilling campaigns, shallow water and deep-ultra deep water.
Commenting on the West African nation’s oil and gas licensing round, Jonathan Copus, CEO of the Getech Group, noted, “The offshore waters of Sierra Leone contain proven petroleum systems, the understanding of which is supported by an inventory of extremely high quality geological and geophysical data.”
“With much of this data being made available for the first time, the country’s fourth licensing round has generated significant levels of interest from the international oil and gas industry,” Copus added.
Partnering with the government of Sierra Leone, Getech aims to attract international investment via a strong and transparent licensing process, through which the country’s people are set to gain both near-term and long-term national benefit.
