It has been widely known that various oil companies have visited the country and engaged the authorities on petroleum licenses and petroleum exploration, particularly on offshore oil reserves which were classified if memory serves right as blocks A1, A2, A4, A5 and probably A3.
International oil companies such as Burrill Hill, FAR, African Petroleum, Oranto Oil, BP have been named in talks with the authorities. In this regard, all of them had secured licenses to engage in offshore oil explorations in our waters, according to informed sources.
The offshore oil prospects in The Gambia have been under the public radar and under the lenses of international economic intelligence for some time now. It has been speculated that a lucrative portion of the country’s offshore oil reserve is located very close to the area Senegal discovered oil reserves.
It has been said this portion, in addition to the blocks mentioned, showed the potential for the country to become a big oil producing country.
The question then is, why is the Ministry concerned silent in informing the public about the country’s oil prospects. Gambians are eager to know what happened to the licenses granted to these companies and that of African Petroleum in particular.
With the economic burden the country is faced with, it is logical to find other sources of revenue. The oil industry is the best option for development. The Ministry cannot be pretentious about the petroleum portfolio of its mandate .
