Latest news with #FodayMansaray
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sierra Leone Stakes Next Oil Frontier Claim
African countries have recently started making more and more headlines with their plans to develop local oil and gas reserves despite strong opposition from foreign environmentalist organisations and international lenders. The latest to join the oil and gas club is Sierra Leone. And it has big plans for its hydrocarbons. The small Western African state earlier this month concluded a round of seismic research that it now hopes would lure international oil majors in, after several discoveries that failed to produce commercial volumes of hydrocarbons. U.S. Anadarko and Russia's Lukoil were exploring in the country's waters but did not make any major find—although Anadarko struck potentially commercial oil at several offshore sites about a decade ago. Despite a tough start, hopes remain high, and Sierra Leone is planning a new licensing round later this year based on the results of the new survey. 'The reprocessing of that data is happening now with our multi-client partners, TGS, and we are hoping to get something to push to the market in October,' said the head of the country's Petroleum Directorate, as quoted by Reuters, last week. Foday Mansaray added that several oil majors had bought the new data, including Shell, Hess Corp., Murphy Oil, and Brazil's Petrobras. Nestled between Ivory Coast and Guinea, Sierra Leone has estimated hydrocarbon reserves of some 30 billion recoverable barrels of oil equivalent. Of this, an estimated 3 billion barrels lie in a single discovery made by Anadarko over 10 years ago: the Vega prospect. The prospect's development has stalled since its discovery, however, as the company concluded, based on early exploration, that it was not commercially viable. The same has happened to Anadarko's three other discoveries and Lukoil's Savannah discovery. It wasn't just that early exploration data. In 2014, Sierra Leone suffered an outbreak of Ebola, which interfered with its foreign investment plans, to put it mildly, and then the net-zero narrative started gathering pace, discouraging investors from betting on oil and gas. This only serves to highlight the change in sentiment over the past decade—and why oil and gas are so back. In its latest issue of the Statistical Review of World Energy, the Energy Institute reported that demand for oil and gas globally had increased for yet another year in 2024. The increase was modest, at 1% but still an increase, despite forecasts of peak demand for hydrocarbons. This increase was the result of a general rise in energy demand—which prompted a boost in oil, gas, and coal consumption. 'Electrification is accelerating, particularly across developing economies where access to modern energy is expanding rapidly. However, the pace of renewable deployment continues to be outstripped by overall demand growth, 60% of which was met by fossil fuels,' the president of the Energy Institute, Andy Brown, said at the release of the data. So, if the world is consuming ever more energy and wind and solar cannot meet it, then the world will continue needing oil and gas in still-growing volumes—and new sources of supply. This is why Sierra Leone has these high hopes and is investing in seismic surveys. Because legacy production regions are not going to produce forever. Petrobras is an example. The company recently said it has plans for international expansion with a focus on Africa. The reason: natural depletion at some of its fields at home. Petrobras is not alone in the hunt for new discoveries that have revived interest in African exploration. Italy's Eni recently acquired four new offshore blocks in Sierra Leone's neighbour, Ivory Coast, as part of a large-scale project that is supposed to be the first net-zero offshore oil development ever. TotalEnergies earlier in the year received an offshore exploration license for an offshore block in Sao Tome and Principe – an island off the western coast of Africa close to OPEC member Equatorial Guinea. Liberia has also joined the ranks of prospective future oil producers in Africa with a licensing round for as many as 29 blocks earlier this year. Given its proximity to the Ivory Coast and Senegal, and the similar geology, Sierra Leone has good reason for its energy hopes. But it's not just clinging to these hopes. The authorities in the West African state have cut red tape in order to facilitate foreign energy investment. 'From letter of intent to license, our process will not exceed 85 days. Our investment terms are very simple,' the Petroleum Directorate's Mansaray said earlier this year. In this, Sierra Leone is joining a trend across the continent. African governments are turning their backs on transition promises with little substance and instead turning to exploiting their countries' natural resources. As one now former Big Oil top executive said a few years ago, as long as there is demand for oil and gas, there will be supply. By Irina Slav for More Top Reads From this article on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
TimesLIVE
5 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Sierra Leone aims to be West Africa's newest oil and gas exploration frontier
Sierra Leone will wait for the results of a recently-launched offshore 3D seismic survey, its first in over a decade, ahead of potentially opening its next oil and gas licensing round later this year, a senior government official said on Thursday. In partnership with the government's petroleum directorate, consultancy GeoPartners started the six-week seismic survey last month as part of efforts to de-risk exploration in Sierra Leone's offshore basin. "The reprocessing of that data is happening now with our multi-client partners, TGS, and we are hoping to get something to push to the market in October," Foday Mansaray, director-general at the Sierra Leone Petroleum Directorate said of a potential licensing launch date. He said the West African country, where the then Anadarko Petroleum and Russia's Lukoil previously discovered oil but not in commercial quantities, could potentially offer up to 60 offshore blocks in its sixth oil and gas auction round. The previous round concluded in 2023. However, the new blocks are unlikely to include ultra-deep areas that are ordinarily open for direct negotiations, he said.
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Sierra Leone aims to be West Africa's newest oil and gas exploration frontier
CAPE TOWN, June 26 (Reuters) - Sierra Leone will wait for the results of a recently-launched offshore 3D seismic survey, its first in over a decade, ahead of potentially opening its next oil and gas licensing round later this year, a senior government official said on Thursday. In partnership with the government's petroleum directorate, consultancy GeoPartners started the six-week seismic survey last month as part of efforts to de-risk exploration in Sierra Leone's offshore basin. "The reprocessing of that data is happening now with our multi-client partners, TGS, and we are hoping to get something to push to the market in October," Foday Mansaray, director general at the Sierra Leone Petroleum Directorate said of a potential licensing launch date. He said the West African country, where the then Anadarko Petroleum and Russia's Lukoil previously discovered oil but not in commercial quantities, could potentially offer up to 60 offshore blocks in its sixth oil and gas auction round. The previous round concluded in 2023. However, the new blocks are unlikely to include ultra-deep areas that are ordinarily open for direct negotiations, he said. Sierra Leone has an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil equivalent recoverable offshore, Mansaray said, including the large Vega prospect identified by Anadarko previously, which has some 3 billion barrels of oil recoverable. Situated along the Atlantic seaboard and between regional oil-producing countries, such as Ivory Coast to the south and Senegal to the north, Sierra Leone is keen to boost its credentials as an emerging exploration frontier. Over the past 18 months, Shell (SHEL.L), opens new tab, Petrobras ( opens new tab, Hess (HES.N), opens new tab and Murphy Oil (MUR.N), opens new tab have purchased some of its licensed data, Mansaray said. Using Namibia and Guyana as examples of how exploration has boomed in those countries following years of inactivity, he said Sierra Leone could be on the verge of a breakthrough. "I firmly believe that Sierra Leone is on the cusp of something big and we are going to be one of the next big and successful stories."
Zawya
20-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone (PDSL) Director General Joins African Energy Week (AEW) 2025 as Sierra Leone Pursues Data Acquisition, New Bid Round
Foday Mansaray, Director General of the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone (PDSL) – the government agency tasked with managing the country's petroleum resources – will share insight into emerging investment opportunities in oil exploration and production at the African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies 2025 conference. Sierra Leone has emerged as an exciting frontier market in recent months and the participation of Mansaray reflects a drive by the PDSL to engage with global upstream operators seeking new opportunities offshore West Africa. Taking place September 29 to October 3 in Cape Town, AEW: Invest in African Energies is the premier platform for the African energy industry. Through Mansaray's participation, this year's edition will share key insight into the country's investment prospects, including seismic datasets, new exploration frontiers and strategic farm-ins. PDSL is a Strategic Partner of the event. AEW: Invest in African Energies is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit for more information about this exciting event. With proven offshore oil resources and four existing major oil discovery, Sierra Leone is making strides toward incentivizing investment across its shallow and deepwater assets. The PDSL announced during the Invest in African Energy (IAE) Forum in Paris – which serves as a precursor to AEW: Invest in African Energies 2025 in Cape Town – the acquisition of new 3D data across the country's offshore basin, starting in June 2025. The data acquisition program will target the northwestern offshore area, with operations lasting 60 days. The program is expected to be completed within six to eight months and will generate greater understanding of the country's offshore plays. The PDSL also announced that a separate reprocessing effort is underway across the southern part of the basin, conducted in collaboration with global energy data and intelligence company TGS. The companies will leverage TGS' advanced seismic imaging workflows to enhance depth data, offering clearer subsurface insights for oil and gas companies. Focusing on the Vega prospect, the campaign will help map the prospect, supporting future drilling activities across the basin. The data will comprise 7,500 km² of 3D seismic, complemented by 16,000-line km of 2D pre-stack depth migrated data. The campaign is expected to be finalized before AEW: Invest in African Energies 2025. These initiatives align with efforts by the PDSL to de-risk and reprocess data offshore Sierra Leone. Mansaray noted at the IAE Forum that once de-risking happens, the country would be in a position to launch its next licensing round. Sierra Leone concluded its fifth licensing round in September 2023, featuring over 63,000 km² of highly-prospective acreage across 53 blocks. Nigerian exploration firm F.A. Oil won six offshore oil blocks and is currently seeking financial and technical partners to support exploration and development. The company has also kick-started a prospectivity study, revealing indications of up to two billion barrels of hydrocarbons in place. Meanwhile, Sierra Leone is working towards drilling its first well in nearly a decade in 2026. The country is also in the final stages of establishing a new National Oil Company (NOC). The NOC will hold a 10% stake in all exploration licenses, working towards a shared goal of unlocking the potential of the country's hydrocarbon resources. The government seeks to gain a 25-30% interest in projects – subject to negotiation – and the NOC is expected to play an instrumental part in advancing oil and gas developments in the country. 'Sierra Leone has the potential to become a major offshore producer in West Africa. By de-risking and reprocessing data, engaging with operators and investors and pursuing new licensing rounds, the PDSL is providing the requisite support that companies need to invest and make discoveries in Sierra Leone,' Tomás Gerbasio, VP Commercial and Strategic Engagement, African Energy Chamber. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.
