By Assan Bah
Mr. Nani Juwara, the Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Mines said no oil has been discovered in the Gambia so far, despite the numerous explorations made by international oil marketing companies. Mr. Juwara made the disclosure during his recent appearance on ‘Mansa Kunda’, a televised program on GRTS where members of the executive and other officials of the government appear to shed light on issues of concern to the public.
According to Mr. Juwara, wells have been drilled at sea but so far, no discovery of any marketable oil has been made from these explorations.
“What was discovered is just like oil but cannot be categorized as oil,” Mr. Juwara told the audience, noting that though oil exploration is very expensive, government will continue to do so.
“To drill a well, one has to spend nothing less than $30 million Dollars. Therefore, only major international oil companies can come and explore for us, like they did for other countries,” Mr. Juwara said.
He said the government can only market and improve their surveys or investigations to enhance their data, noting that some oil companies are returning, following their exit during the COVID-19 period. He said since his ministry is mandated to grant licences for international companies to conduct oil explorations, with the Ministry already secured support from the Africa Development Bank in 2017 through the Africa Legal Support Facility, which reviewed and designed a model Petroleum Exploration and Production Licence Agreement (PEPLA), approved by cabinet. He said to date, five exploration wells have been drilled in the Gambia.
“Following extensive data acquisition from surveys, seismic data including 2D and 3D has been acquired in partnership with third party or multi-client service providers. A total of about 3,800 square kilometres of 3D seismic data has been acquired since 2017. Out of a total of about 8,500 square kilometres of 3D acquired data, 6,000 square metres of high resolution multi-beamed bati-metric data has also been acquired and completed with logs. Suits from two wells have been drilled with an extensive volume of cotton and coal. A comprehensive and integrated data management system is also being developed,’’ Mr. Juwara said.
He said the first two wells, Brikama 1 and Serekunda 1, were drilled onshore in 1960 and 1961 respectively, by British Petroleum (BP), with a third well called ‘Jama’ 1, which was drilled offshore in 1979 by Cevron. He said a fourth well called ‘Samo’ 1, was drilled offshore by FAR and Petronas Ltd. He highlighted that it took about 39 years after the drilling of the first wells in the Gambia, before another well was drilled in 2018.
“It is worth noting that from 1960 to 2018, only one offshore well was drilled in the Gambia. However, from 2018 to date, two offshore exploration wells were drilled. Currently, out of eight offshore exploration blocks, we have one company called Petronas which has drilled Block A4,” he indicated.
Notwithstanding, Mr. Juwara said his ministry has amplified the promotion of its acreages this year, and said they are working with key partners to make the investment climate attractive for investors to come and explore the country’s oil sector.
“We are currently working on a new petroleum exploration, development, and production deal that reflects current industry best practises, and is free of inconsistencies with other laws and legislations that would promote investment in the upstream petroleum sub-sectors,” he said.
According to Juwara, from 2017 to date, licences were issued to FAR / Petronas, which is a joint venture and British Petroleum (BP). He however said that after failing to find oil in Samo 1 and Bambo 1 wells in 2018 and 2021 respectively, both FAR and Petronas exited the A2 and A5 licences.
““The total revenue of about seventy million seventy two thousand six hundred and forty seven million US dollars (US $70,072,647) was received from three licence holders between 2017 to date,” he said, stating that his ministry is currently at an advanced stage of engagement with companies interested in acquiring licences on other oil blocks. He said negotiations on these are well advanced.
When asked about the specific technical or geological methods that prevented the discovery of oil so far in the country and his Ministry’s new strategies employed to increase the country’s chances of discovering oil, Mr. Jerreh Barrow, the Director of the National Petroleum Commission who responded on behalf of the Minister, said the existence of oil in a particular place has been decided millions of years ago by nature. He explained that geological processes help in the natural creation or formation of oil underground.
“What we do is to locate that oil. There are very well-established methods and techniques of finding oil all over the world. These techniques are globally applied, and this is what has been going on in the Gambia as well. The question around whether we have oil or not can be answered by a simple response and that is, the geological atmosphere required must be present, before oil can be found, as done in Ghana,’’ he said.
He said they believe that the Gambia has oil, likewise the many international oil companies that have hundreds of years of experience in the sector.
“BP has been doing this over generations and they have perfected the techniques of finding oil. For such companies to come into the country with all these human resources, capacities and technologies, they must believe that there is oil in the country. There is nothing preventing us geologically, because the elements or factors have been already confirmed. It is however a lengthy process that requires repetitive processes. In Senegal for example, they have been exploring or drilling wells since 1956 or so. It is only in 2014 that they made the first oil discovery, just like Ghana,’’ Mr. Barrow said.
He said there are no geological factors that is preventing the country from finding oil, and said all that is needed is to drill more wells and hopefully, oil will be found. Mr. Barrow further clarified that the question of sharing of resources is not new, when it comes to the law of the sea, and said the law has clearly defined the relationship between states, and the way they use their offshore resources.
“There are also clearly laid down steps to be taken before the question of unitisation comes in,” he said.
“Around 2016 when gas discovery was made in Mauritania by Cosmos Energy Company Ltd., the same company acquired acreage or a block within Senegal just to find out whether the same resource was extended into the later country. It was only after they drilled into Senegal that they found out that part of the area also had oil and gas, and this was in their interest,” he explained.
He said the question of unitisation only arises when it is found out that oil reservoirs are straddled along borders, and said the first step to a conversation between states when such a thing happens, starts with the country that is exploring to discover oil.
