The Government of Sierra Leone has awarded offshore exploration concessions to two companies following the conclusion of the Fourth Offshore Petroleum Licensing Round on 28 February
Sierra Leone’s open offshore petroleum acreages have been provisionally awarded to Cluff Energy Africa, covering graticular blocks 23, 24, 25, 36, 37, 38, 39, 54, 55, 56, 57, 74, 75, 94 and 95, and Innoson Oil and Gas, covering graticular blocks 96, 97, 114, 115, 116, 117, 133,134, and 135.
Six applications for offshore petroleum concessions were received and evaluated, with a detailed assessment focusing on technical and financial capability to implement deep water exploration projects; favourable commercial terms; capacity of Health, Safety and Environmental programmes; commitment to local content requirements; and attractiveness of proposed social responsibility initiatives.
The initial launch of the Fourth Licensing Round in January 2018 was followed by extensions and corresponding industry consultations that resulted in the revision of the licensing strategy. This included the adoption of a graticular block framework model that was designed to allow applicants the freedom to delineate their areas of interest by assembling multiple contiguous blocks of 1,360 km each.
