The Malian national assembly has amended the law governing petroleum exploration activities in the country, extending the total length of the search from 10 to 12 years, according to information reaching here on Tuesday.
The new law, which was passed by parliament on Monday afternoon, is aimed at boosting activities in the sector with regard to the organization of exploration, exploitation, transportation and refining of hydrocarbons in the West African country, according to official sources.
"This amendment will ensure that companies involved in oil exploration will undertake their work in the best conditions for a better evaluation of Mali's petroleum potential and in the identification of hydrocarbon deposits," said an expert with the mines ministry.
Over the last few years, the search for oil, which is often referred to as the black gold, has gathered high momentum in Mali, especially since the oil code was revised in 2004, according to the ministry experts.
The work of reinterpreting old geophysics and geology data collected during fieldworks that have been conducted since 2005 has highlighted a real potential in the five sedimentary basins in the northern part of the country, including Taoudenit, Tamesna, Ilumenden, Ditch Nara and Gao.
The government has sub-divided the five basins into 25 exploration blocks, of which 15 are oil-revenue sharing agreements for production while four have been designed as concession agreements, according to reliable sources.
The Authority for the Advancement of Oil Exploration (AUREP) is the Malian body charged with ensuring that companies will continue to comply with the commitments that were made through the various conventions.
After consulting the AUREP, the Malian government has already entered into several concessions, notably with companies such as South Africa's Energem Petroleum and Swiss-based In Natural Resources, according to official sources.
By amending the law, which sets the maximum duration for the authorization of exploration work to four years, renewable for two consecutive periods not exceeding three years each, the Malian government has underscored its willingness to encourage more investments in the sector.
Source:Xinhua
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