Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. Sierra Leone is preparing to launch a new oil and gas licensing round later this year, following a fresh set of seismic studies that may help revive interest in its offshore resources.
The country recently completed a round of seismic data collection and is now working with multi-client partners TGS to process the results. According to Reuters, the Petroleum Directorate says it aims to present the new data to the market in October.
Several major oil companies have already purchased access to the data, including Shell, Hess Corporation, Murphy Oil, and Brazil’s Petrobras.
Sierra Leone, which sits between Guinea and Ivory Coast, has an estimated 30 billion barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. About 3 billion barrels of this are located in the Vega prospect, a discovery made by U.S. company Anadarko over a decade ago. However, the site has not been developed, as early analysis suggested it was not commercially viable. Other discoveries made by Anadarko and Russia’s Lukoil also remain undeveloped.
The country’s efforts to grow its oil and gas industry were interrupted in 2014 by the Ebola outbreak, which affected investment across several sectors. Interest in fossil fuel exploration declined globally over the years as energy companies faced pressure to focus more on renewables. More recently, however, exploration activity has started to increase again.
According to the Energy Institute’s latest Statistical Review of World Energy, global oil and gas demand rose by 1 percent in 2024. The report noted that 60 percent of increased energy demand last year was still met by oil, gas, and coal.
This has led to renewed exploration across Africa. Petrobras recently announced it is expanding into new markets due to falling output in some of its older oil fields in Brazil. Italy’s Eni has acquired four offshore blocks in nearby Ivory Coast, while TotalEnergies secured new acreage in São Tomé and Príncipe. Liberia, just north of Sierra Leone, also opened a licensing round for 29 offshore blocks earlier this year.
Sierra Leone is hoping to follow a similar path. The planned licensing round, which is the process where the government invites oil companies to apply for rights to explore specific offshore areas, is part of efforts to attract new investment based on the updated data.
The head of Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate, Foday Mansaray, told Reuters the country has made changes to speed up the investment process. He said the licensing process now takes no more than 85 days from start to finish. The country hopes the simpler process and updated seismic data will encourage more foreign investment.
While earlier exploration efforts in Sierra Leone did not result in commercial production, the government is hoping the new licensing round and growing global demand will attract new energy partners.
For More News And Analysis About Sierra-Leone Follow Africa-Press
