Senegal launches first offshore licensing round

The licensing round comprises twelve blocks on offer in the Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea Conakry (MSGBC) Basin, offshore Senegal. Companies will be able to submit bids over the coming six months, with final applications delivered to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy at the latest by 31 July 2020.

The MSGBC Basin is home to several recent high-profile oil and gas discoveries, both on and off the shelf. The palaeo shelf-edge carbonate trend extending south of the Sangomar field and the expanse of prospective area outboard of this to the north and south have led many explorers to the region.

Following the license round launch at the King Fahd Hotel, Dakar, further events are planned this year - in London on 20 February and in Houston on 25 February.

TGS, which provides a library of multi-client geoscience data to oil and gas exploration & production (E&P) companies worldwide, holds a range of data across this acreage to support the licensing round, including 2D seismic, 3D seismic, multibeam and seafloor sampling solutions.

TGS is also partnering with GeoPartners on an active 3D seismic acquisition to acquire additional regional data so that interested parties can gain greater subsurface understanding ahead of bid submissions. This latest stand-alone survey (SN-UDO-19) is located in northern Senegal and is an extension to the recently completed SS-UDO-19 3D acquisition in southern Senegal. The survey has been designed to illuminate plays in ultra-deepwater, enabling explorers to build upon the success the basin has experienced with the Sangomar field, the GTA complex and Yakaar discoveries. The SN-UDO-19 survey is over 70% complete, with fast track data available during 2Q20. The full dataset will be available by 4Q20.

Rune Eng, Executive Vice President, Southern Hemisphere at TGS, commented: “The launch of Senegal’s landmark license round is a seminal moment in the nation’s hydrocarbon history. TGS is delighted to be able to support this initiative with a full complement of regional data sets that should help E&P companies to de-risk their exploration activities as they seek to take advantage of a world-renowned oil and gas basin.”

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/offshore-and-subsea/29012020/senegal-launches-first-offshore-licensing-round/