9 oil blocks awarded to several firms by Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone’s government has awarded nine provisional offshore oil blocks to companies, after what President Ernest Bai Koroma’s office called, “a painstaking and time-consuming technical evaluation process.”
This comes close to four months now since Sierra Leonean authorities announced the discovery of oil off the country’s Atlantic coast by Anardarko Petroleum.
“The jupiter-1 discovery well offshore sierra leone encountered approximately 98 net feet (30 metres) of hydrocarbon pay in upper cretaceous-age reservoirs,” said a February 21, 2012 statement from the presidency in Freetown.
Anardarko is of course one of the nine oil firms given blocks, which include some big names in the international oil business from Europe and the United States such Chevron and Elintos.
Last December, the government through the petroleum directorate, issued a call for tender for its 3rd bid round.
Click audio below to listen to a report by WADR’s Freetown Correspondent Mohamed Konneh with details of the awarding of the nine offshore oil exploration blocks.
Death strikes Deputy Speaker & Army chief
Death has struck two top officials of the Sierra Leonean government, the deputy speaker of parliament and Chief of Staff of the country’s Armed Forces.
Chukuma Johnson, who was also deputy chairman of the ruling party, All people’s Congress (APC) died from a heart attack over the weekend, while attending the funeral of President Ernest Bai Koroma’s mother in the northern province of Makeni.
Then came the death of the country’s Chief of Defense Staff, Brigadier Yira Koroma on Sunday.
WADR’s Freetown Correspondent Mohamed Konneh speaks with Frank Sainworla about how big a blow the two deaths are the Sierra Leonean leader, who faces presidential election in less than three months.
Click audio below to listen
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