PetroNor retains offshore Gambia license following arbitration

Sept. 21, 2020
PetroNor and the government of The Gambia have settled arbitration relating to the offshore A1 and A4 licenses.

Offshore staff

OSLO, NorwayPetroNor and the government of The Gambia have settled arbitration relating to the offshore A1 and A4 licenses.

Under the terms of the agreement, PetroNor will regain A4, signing a 30-year lease under new terms. The company will also drop any claims related to A1 which has subsequently been awarded to a major oil company.

The license terms are based on The Gambia’s new Petroleum, Exploration and Production License Agreement PEPLA model.

Eyas Alhomouz, chairman of PetroNor E&P Ltd., said: “This is undoubtedly a good outcome for all parties as it removes a lot of uncertainty and potential further cost exposure to what was a highly complex situation…

“The terms of the new license are significantly more attractive and will enhance not only the value of the license but also its attractiveness to potential partners.

“Importantly, we have a year to decide if we wish to proceed with the lease agreement, and we would expect to have seen drilling on the adjacent A1 license during this timeframe which will mean we are far better placed to make commercial and technical decisions regarding the next steps associated with our license.”

In 2015, ERC Equipoise estimated prospective oil resources across the two Gambian licenses at 3,079 MMbbl.

09/21/2020

Courtesy VAALCO's "36TH ANNUAL ROTH CONFERENCE" presentation, March 2024
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