The government of The Gambia has given PetroNor a 30-day extension to the long-stop date for its A4 licence option in the country, JollofNews gathered.
In giving details of the latest development, regarding its A4 licence option in The Gambia, PetroNor announced that it held positive discussions with the government of The Gambia last month.
As the sequel to the discussions, PetroNor has decided to exercise its right to continue with the Petroleum, Exploration, Development and Production Licence Agreement (PEPLA) for the A4 licence in The Gambia.
Meanwhile, JollofNews has also learnt that PetroNor and GNPC have reached an agreement dubbed Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) for the A4 Licence offshore Gambia.
As government licensee, GNPC has reportedly been assigned a 10 per cent participating interest in the license.
The JOA sets the operational parameters for PetroNor -GNPC relationship, this medium has gathered.
The terms of the PEPLA were adjusted to enable PetroNor phase commitments through an extended Initial Exploration Period of three years divided into two phases of 18 months each.
Sources said this provides time for additional “de-risking technical work” before committing to exploration drilling in the second phase.
As a signatory to the agreement, PEPLA has reportedly committed the company to a signature bonus of USD 1 million and a minimum work program of USD1.5 million in the first 18-month phase.
PetroNor’s interim boss Jens Pace was quoted as saying:”The PetroNor exploration team have been consistent and passionate advocates for the potential of this part of the Atlantic margin.
“It is the company’s strategy to form a strong partnership with others to explore the identified prospects.
“Encouraging interest received from third parties has supported our discussions with the government of The Gambia to phase commitments and help make the licence more attractive as a farm-in opportunity. It is our shared objective that these efforts will lead to a future drilling program.”
