The independent E&P company has reached an agreement with the government of the West African country
Norwegian independent oil and gas exploration and production company, PetroNor, has announced that the Company has reached a mutual agreement with the Government of Senegal to suspend the Arbitration related to the Rufisque Offshore Profond and Senegal Offshore Sud Profond licence areas for a period of six months with a view to reaching a satisfactory outcome for all parties. A formal request has been lodged with ICSID to suspend the process.
The agreement to suspend the arbitration follows a period of progressive dialogue between the Company and relevant authorities. Commenting on the update, Eyas Alhomouz, Chairman of PetroNor E&P Limited, said:
“This is a positive development that matches PetroNor’s strategy adopted since the merger with African Petroleum Corporation to seek an amicable solution in The Gambia and Senegal, refocus our resources and create value for the shareholders.
It further highlights a willingness of all parties to discuss reasonable settlement solutions. We thank the relevant authorities in Senegal for their pragmatism in reaching this mutual decision and hope to use this window of suspension to progress our dialogue and reach a firm agreement that benefits both PetroNor and Senegal.”
PetroNor reserves its rights to a 90% operated interest in the two concessions which cover a total area of 14,216 sq km (5,489 sq mi).
Previously it purchased 10,000 km (6,214 mi) of 2D seismic data over the licenses and compiled a regional database, and in May 2012, completed a 3,600-sq km (1,390-sq mi) 3D seismic acquisition over Senegal Offshore Sud Profond.
Merger with Africa Petroleum
Last September, PetroNor, which focuses on production, development and exploration assets across sub-Saharan Africa, closed its merger with pureplay explorer African Petroleum. The deal transformed African Petroleum from an exploration-focused company into a cash-flow generating producer.
CEO of African Petroleum, Jens Pace, commented at the time: “This is a truly transformative transaction that diversifies our portfolio considerably whilst simultaneously strengthening our position with regards to ongoing arbitration and farm-down processes. We have been proactively seeking opportunities to diversify our footprint away from pure-exploration, and this proposed combination with PetroNor delivers all the criteria we sought.”
Licensing in Senegal
At the beginning of the year, Senegal launched its new Licensing Round, which was announced at Africa Oil Week 2019.
This comprises twelve blocks on offer in the MSGBC Basin, offshore Senegal and seeks to increase investment in the country, presenting opportunities for short medium and long-term investment, with future rounds planned.
PETROSEN has partnered with TGS, GeoPartners and PGS to provide over 14,000 km of 2D data, over 10,000 km² of 3D data and over 50,000 km² of Multibeam data with associated shallow cores and geochemistry, to interested parties.
Source: Africa Oil Week
