With the third successful conclusion of the recent oil and gas offshore bid round, Sierra Leone is now widely recognised as the new frontier for oil and gas opportunities. There were a total of fifty nine applications for eight blocks that were advertised. Although there are no established reserves, recent significant discoveries have been made by certain off shore concessionaires that have established Sierra Leone as an interesting destination for oil and gas exploration. There have been two major oil discoveries off the coast of Sierra Leone. The first of which was the Venus deep water discovery in block SL-06 in September 2009. The
second is the Mercury-1 discovery, in November 2010. There is ongoing exploration in several blocks, with plans to drill more exploration wells in the works.
The strength and extent of our capability and expertise is evidenced by the range of challenging projects and clients we have advised in Sierra Leone. Some of the companies engaging in oil exploration in Sierra Leone include: Lukoil, Oranto Petroleum, Anadarko Petroleum, the Mitusubishi Corporation, Repsol and Tullow. We have adviced Oranto Petroleum, SL Exploration GmBH and LukOil in Sierra Leone. Our oil and gas practice is built on a sophisticated and detailed understanding of the legal aspects of exploring for, producing, transporting, storing, marketing, and processing crude oil and natural gas. Our track record and expertise
has been a mainstay in defining and redefining our signature service to the Mining, Oil & Gas and Natural Resources Law & Practice. We have regularly worked with international law firms in this regard.