Thursday 23 May 2019

Mr Timothy Kabba, Director General of the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone has announced on behalf of the country’s Government, the reopening of Sierra Leone’s Fourth Licensing Round.

Following the conclusion of a six-month industry consultation that was designed to collate international industry feedback and ensure the success of this round, companies are now invited to re-engage with the Fourth Licensing Round.

The consultation provided the Directorate with the evidence needed to structure this round in line with industry expectation and hence the Fourth Round will:

- Fully open the Republic’s offshore waters for petroleum licensing

- Utilise a more flexible Block framework as the basis for licensing

- Launch a Direct Tender for Licence Applications where 50% or more of the application area is in water depths in excess of 2,500 metres

- Launch an Open Tender for all other Licence Applications

To assist their evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential in these Blocks the Petroleum Directorate, supported by the Getech Group has set up Data Rooms in Freetown, London and Houston.

These facilities will allow potential investors to review:

- Over 29,000 line-kilometres of 2D seismic data

- Over 11,000 kilometers2 of 3D seismic data

- 8 wells

- Extensive value-added studies and reports

CEO of the Getech Group, Jonathan Copus commented; “Working in partnership with the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone, we are delighted to support the reopening of the Fourth Licensing Round. Having completed its consultation, the Petroleum Directorate has put in place a robust but flexible licensing framework that will assist investors in their evaluation of the significant potential of the Sierra Leone margin. We look forward to the successful outcome that facilitates the optimal exploration and development of Sierra Leone’s petroleum resources for the long-term benefit of its people.”

For more information about the tender process, including opening and deadlines dates, please contact the Getech Group: www.getech.com