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Australia’s Far has started drilling the Samo-1 exploration well in offshore Block A2. The well will be drilled in 1,000 metres of water to a planned depth of approximately 3,100 metres using the Stena Drillmax, which arrived at the well location on 21 October.

As Australia’s Far prepares to drill a well on the Samo prospect later this year, Gambia has drawn up a shortlist of applicants for its open blocks and hopes to make awards by year-end. Petroleum commissioner Jerreh Barrow told African Energy blocks A1 and A4 had received the most interest and the government planned to award the block, even though it is still the subject of arbitration by African Petroleum (AP).

The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has invited expressions of interest by 8 August from eligible consultants to prepare policy, regulations and an enabling framework to promote market-driven green mini-grids. The contract is to be financed from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, which is administered by the African Development Bank, for the Green Mini-Grid (GMG) Country Support Programme.

African Petroleum said on 25 June that it has lodged Request for Arbitration documents with the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) over the Senegal Offshore Sud Profond and Rufisque Offshore Profond production-sharing contracts (PSCs). The government says the licences expired in 2016 and it has re-licensed ROP to Total, which has acquired seismic and plans a well next year. The company lodged formal notices of dispute with the government in January 2018 for the two blocks.

Australia’s Far has signed a rig contract with Stena Drilling for the Stena DrillMAX to drill the Samo-1 exploration well in late 2018, the first well offshore The Gambia for 40 years. The same drillship carried out the 2017 drilling campaign offshore Senegal for Cairn Energy. Far said it had obtained a day rate for the rig in line with 2017 rates. The Samo prospect on Block A2 is on trend with the SNE field in Senegal, just 5km away.

Australia’s Far has secured Malaysia’s Petronas as a farm-in partner to share the costs of its planned Samo-1 exploration well. Far announced on 26 February it had signed an agreement farming down a 40% stake in blocks A2 and A5. Far retains 40% and Erin Energy has the other 20%. Samo-1 is expected to be drilled in late 2018 and will be the first exploration well offshore Gambia since 1979. Under the agreement, Petronas will fund 80% of the well cost up to a $45m maximum total.

National Water and Electricity Company (Nawec) signed a two-year power purchase agreement with Turkey’s Karpower on 12 February for 30MW of short-term rental power. Local news reports quoted energy minister Fafa Sanyang as saying the contract was part of a short-term plan to improve capacity, while Nawec rehabilitates and repairs plants and implements existing projects to tackle energy constraints.

The new government has launched a licensing process for its open acreage, even though it has yet to publish planned revisions to the petroleum law and blocks A1 and A4 are in arbitration. Speaking at a roadshow event in London hosted by law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), petroleum and energy minister Fafa Sanyang said Gambia aimed to license its hydrocarbon blocks in a competitive and transparent selection process. The government is working with the African Development Bank’s Africa Legal Support Facility, BLP and local law firm Amie Bensouda to review the 2014 petroleum law.

Oryx Energies has entered the Gambian market for the first time with the acquisition of a 75.01% stake in Atlas Energy Limited, Gambia. Atlas manages a network of 28 service stations and supplies fuels, lubricants and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) products to business customers. The service stations will keep the Atlas name, while lubricants and LPG products will be sold under the Oryx Energies brand.

Vice-president and minister of women’s affairs Aja Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang on 8 November presided over the laying of a foundation stone for a 20MW expansion of the Brikama II heavy fuel oil plant. The $25m project is funded by the Islamic Development Bank, with counterpart funding from the Gambian government, and is expected to be commissioned in 18 months.

Australia’s Far is preparing to drill in Gambia in 2018. The company has identified an extension of the SNE shelf edge trend and plans a well on the Sama prospect on Block A2, targeting 500m bbls of recoverable reserves.

African Petroleum Corporation announced on 18 October that it had lodged Request for Arbitration documents with the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in its dispute with the government over blocks A1 and A4. Government officials say the licences expired in September 2016 and have not been renewed, but African Petroleum says the formal termination procedure has not been followed

African Petroleum says it is preparing to launch a formal arbitration process in its dispute with the government over blocks A1 and A4. Government officials say the licences expired in September 2016 and have not been renewed, but African Petroleum says the formal termination procedure has not been followed. In April, the Oslo-listed company said it had agreed heads of terms for an unnamed company to take a 70% stake in the Gambian blocks and its Senegal licence, but in July it said it had allowed the exclusivity agreement to lapse “to provide flexibility in government discussions” over the Gambia blocks, and to enable it to talk to other potential suitors for Senegal.

African Petroleum insists its offshore licences for blocks A1 and A4 are still valid, despite Gambian officials saying they have expired. Reuters quoted petroleum and energy minister Fafa Sanyang and permanent secretary for petroleum Mod K Ceesay as saying the licences expired in September 2016 and have not been renewed, but African Petroleum said the termination procedure had not been followed. “The terms of the licences state that the licences remain active unless and until a termination procedure is enacted by the state.

Australia’s Far plans a well at the end of 2018 on offshore Block A2. Managing director Cath Norman told ITE Group’s Africa Independents Forum on 24 May that the company had identified an extension of the SNE shelf edge trend and planned a well on the Sama prospect, targeting 500m bbls of recoverable reserves.