According to the Gambian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, BP will exit Block A1 after failing to fulfill the terms of the oil exploration development and production license agreement signed in April 2019.
The permit came into effect on July 30, 2019 with an initial 2-year exploration period ending July 29, 2021. BP’s obligations during this period included requirements, among other things, to acquire and reprocess 2D and 3D seismic data, to conduct an environmental study Impact assessment and drilling of an exploration well.
Since the effective date of July 2019, BP has performed the necessary prior tasks / obligations for the drilling of an exploration well. In particular, BP acquired and reprocessed 2D and 3D data and carried out an Environmental Impact Study. However, the commitment to drill an exploration well remained in abeyance.
At the start of 2020, Covid-19 struck, causing a sea change in the global oil and gas industry and leading BP to suspend drilling plans as previously planned, i.e. by the end 2020. Additionally, in July 2020, BP informed the ministry that it would not be able to drill a well in Block A1 due to a change in its business strategy towards low emission energy. carbon.
In accordance with the terms of the license, if there are any unfulfilled obligations, BP will be obligated to pay the government the difference between the agreed work engagement and the executed labor engagement. As a result, BP has agreed to pay the government the relevant unpaid amounts as well as the training and resources balances and rents owed to the government.
As a result, BP would have fulfilled all of its licensing obligations and the A1 block will revert to the government free of charge. With the release of BP, block A1 will now be on the licensing market.
The government would like to take this opportunity to thank BP for its cooperation in the amicable settlement of the matter and to wish them good luck in their new strategic direction, hoping to work with them in other ways in the future. .
The Ministry would like to thank the staff of the Petroleum Commission and the GNPC who have worked so diligently on this issue and our stakeholders, the Ministries of Justice and Finance as well as our international partners including the African Support Facility. Legal and the Consortium of Consultants (Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Pipers, Open Oil and Ric Weighman).
Source: Petroleum Africa
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