Govt to issue oil, gas, exploration licences this year - Mwale

Govt to issue oil, gas, exploration licences this year - Mwale
By Florence Bupe
Fri 23 July 2010, 14:00 CAT

MINES minister Maxwell Mwale has disclosed that government will commence the issuance of licenses to companies that were awarded blocks for oil and gas exploration before the end of this year.

Delivering a ministerial statement to Parliament on the status of petroleum exploration in Zambia on Thursday, Mwale said government through the Petroleum Committee was strategising on ways of making oil and gas exploration a viable economic venture for the country.

“The Petroleum Committee will in the near future license the companies that were awarded blocks for them to commence exploration before the end of the dry season this year to this important economic venture further. The committee will also finalise petroleum regulations for the effective monitoring and regulation of the sector,” he said.

Mwale said it was difficult for Zambia, being a frontier country, to attract investment in the oil and gas exploration sector but expressed hope that once the sector was developed, more investments would flow in.

“Zambia is a frontier country when it comes to gas and oil exploration. As a frontier country, it is difficult to attract investment in the sector,” Mwale said. “However, once the exploration companies start getting positive petroleum results, we are going to witness an influx of petroleum exploration companies and investment in the sector.”

Mwale stressed that positive results from oil and gas exploration may not immediately be visible, but added that the country’s leadership has the responsibility to manage expectations from this economic sector.

And Mwale assured that government had adopted a proactive approach in addressing the possible environmental effects of oil and gas exploration.

“Government, recognising that with the development of the petroleum industry comes many environmental and socio- economic challenges, has taken a proactive stance. With the help of the Norwegian government, my ministry has developed a strategic environmental assessment for the petroleum sub- sector,” he said.

A total of eight companies that included four local companies participated in the initial bidding process for 23 blocks, resulting in the awarding of eleven blocks to seven companies.

The ministry earlier this year advertised for an additional eleven blocks, which has seen only two local companies submitting bids.