Eni has been granted a licence to explore Block A1, an offshore area in Gambia, following an agreement signed with the Gambian Government.
The contract, which covers exploration, development and production, was signed by the Italian energy company and Gambia’s Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Nani Juwara.
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Block A1 occupies 1,300km² of offshore territory at water depths between 1,250 and 3,300m.
The block is positioned within a segment of the Atlantic margin where previous hydrocarbon finds have been made.
According to Eni, the acquisition of Block A1 aligns with its strategy to increase exploration opportunities in both proven and under-explored areas.
The licensing of Block A1 follows multiple changes in operatorship in recent years.
In August 2021, the Gambian Ministry of Petroleum announced that the block was available for licensing after bp agreed to a $29.3m (£21.98m) settlement over unmet drilling obligations, reported Reuters.
BP had failed to drill a well before the expiry of the initial exploration period on 29 July 2021, as required under its licence agreement.
The ministry at that time stated that Block A1 would revert to government ownership free of any encumbrances. It also confirmed that, following bp’s exit, Block A1 is available on the market for licensing.
BP initially entered the A1 licence and performed the minimum work obligations required during the first exploration period. This included acquiring reprocessed 2D and 3D data and conducting an environmental impact assessment.
However, bp did not fulfil the commitment to drill an exploration well.
BP had originally acquired rights to Block A1 in 2019 after Gambian authorities revoked the concession from African Petroleum for failing to meet contractual terms before the end of its licence.
In early 2020, bp suspended plans to drill due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In August 2020, bp announced a strategic pivot from being an international oil company focused on resource production to an integrated energy company.
Consequently, bp notified the Gambian ministry that it could not proceed with the work commitments related to the A1 licence and decided to exit the licence.
