Sierra Leone

The Petroleum Directorate Sierra Leone (PDSL) has wrapped up the Nation's 5th Offshore Petroleum Licensing Round. 

The bidding process concluded on September 29, 2023 and pre-qualified three leading industry players with deepwater expertise for Exploration & Production licenses. The next steps involve negotiations and potential Parliamentary ratification for Exploration & Production licenses.

This achievement signifies a growing interest in Sierra Leone's offshore potential.

Brazil

The Brazilian National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) is offering 33 exploration blocks in offshore and onshore areas in the fourth cycle of its permanent concession offer bid round. Offshore blocks on offer for oil and gas exploration in this round include 12 blocks in the Pelotas Basin, one in the Potiguar Basin, and four in the Santos Basin. A public session to present the offers will be held on 13 December 2023. Bid approvals and the signing of concession agreements will take place in the first half of 2024. 

Brazil’s Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis (ANP) is offering five offshore blocks in the second cycle of its permanent production sharing offer programme. The public bid round will be held on 13 December 2023. Blocks on offer include Cruzeiro do Sul, Esmeralda, Jade, and Tupinambá in the Santos Basin and Turmalina in the Campos Basin. Six companies have qualified to present offers in the public bid round; BP Energy do Brasil Ltda., Chevron Brasil Óleo e Gás Ltda., QatarEnergy Brasil Ltda., Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltd. and TotalEnergies EP Brasil Ltda. Qualification in the permanent production sharing offer program takes place before the public session. These companies will also be able to present new declarations of interest and additional offers until 8 November 2023. 

Australia

In Western Australia, eight onshore blocks were released for petroleum exploration, located across the Canning, Northern Carnarvon, Amadeus, and Perth Basins, and vary in size from 400 to 7,070 square kilometres.

The release provides explorers with new opportunities to invest in WA's petroleum sector and offers long-term support in developing the State's oil and gas resources.

Successful applicants may be granted an exploration permit that allows them to conduct exploration activities, within the specified title for a period of six years.

US Gulf of Mexico

In response to a ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Court), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published its updated Final Notice of Sale (FNOS) for Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 261 in the Federal Register on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. BOEM plans to conduct the lease sale on Nov. 8, 2023.

Lease Sale 261 will offer approx. 13,618 blocks on 72.7 million acres on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf in the Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas in the Gulf of Mexico. The Court directed BOEM to include lease blocks that were previously excluded due to potential impacts to the Rice’s whale population from oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico, and to remove portions of a related stipulation meant to address those potential impacts from the lease terms for any leases that may result from Lease Sale 261.

Egypt

At the end of September, Egypt’s petroleum ministry launched an international bidding round for exploration in 23 open blocks, with the offer deadline set for Feb. 25 2024