A landmark agreement with Shell is set to significantly accelerate Sierra Leone’s upstream ambitions, positioning the country as one of West Africa’s most closely watched exploration frontiers as the world’s biggest energy companies compete for access to under-explored Atlantic basins. The deal covers 19 offshore blocks spanning more than 20,000 square kilometres, across which Shell will conduct comprehensive geotechnical and geophysical studies to deepen understanding of the basin and inform future drilling decisions.
Foday Mansaray, Director General of the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone, described the agreement as a source of immense national pride and the result of months of sustained negotiations. He said the arrangement builds on a similar engagement signed with Eni in 2025 and that together the two initiatives are expected to significantly enhance subsurface data quality and improve exploration success rates. ‘This will put Sierra Leone firmly on the oil and gas map,’ he said. ‘It opens the door for further investment and takes us closer to exploration, drilling, and eventual production.’
The agreement is underpinned by a recent programme of technical improvement that Mansaray said is already attracting serious international operator interest. Sierra Leone, in partnership with data companies TGS and BGP, has reprocessed legacy seismic datasets and acquired more than 3,000 square kilometres of new 3D seismic data. He noted that reducing government red tape and ensuring rapid inter-agency coordination during seismic campaigns — completing recent surveys in as little as 60 days — is part of the country’s deliberate effort to signal operational efficiency to international oil companies.
On fiscal terms, Mansaray outlined three fixed parameters: a 30 per cent corporate income tax, royalties of 10 per cent for oil and 5 per cent for gas, and a carried interest — with everything else open to negotiation to ensure the investment environment remains competitive. Sierra Leone has also signed cooperation agreements with more mature African producing nations including Ghana, Nigeria, and Angola to build local technical capacity, and has established the Sierra Leone National Petroleum Company to safeguard the state’s commercial interests. The long-term vision, Mansaray said, is to move beyond crude export and become a producer of refined petroleum products.
Source: prospect-intel.com