Sierra Leone signs $225 million offshore oil deal with Nigeria’s Marginal Energy
Sierra Leone has signed a $225 million offshore oil exploration and production agreement with Nigeria-based Marginal Energy Limited, as the country steps up efforts to revive its upstream petroleum sector.
Sierra Leone has signed a $225 million offshore oil exploration and production agreement with Nigeria-based Marginal Energy Limited, as the country steps up efforts to revive its upstream petroleum sector.
The agreement was signed on Thursday at the Invest in African Energy conference in Paris, where Sierra Leone has been actively promoting its offshore licensing opportunities to attract investors.
Marginal Energy Limited is a Nigerian independent oil and gas company focused on upstream exploration and production, particularly in marginal fields, and is part of a growing group of indigenous firms expanding beyond Nigeria’s borders.
Speaking on the deal, Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, said the agreement reflects the country’s commitment to unlocking its petroleum potential while ensuring benefits for its citizens.
These blocks form part of Sierra Leone’s largely underexplored offshore basin, which the government is now repositioning as a frontier destination for oil and gas investment.
In addition, the country has the option to acquire up to an extra 9% participating interest on a paid basis once production begins, allowing it to increase its stake if discoveries prove commercially successful.
Sierra Leone has long sought to establish itself as an oil-producing nation, but progress has been slow despite early exploration campaigns in the 1980s that identified offshore hydrocarbon potential.
In recent years, however, the government has renewed efforts to attract investment into its offshore basin by updating regulatory frameworks and commissioning new seismic data to improve the understanding of its reserves.
This renewed push appears to be gaining traction. On April 22, Shell signed an agreement with Sierra Leone to explore oil and gas in its offshore basin, coming just five months after Italy’s Eni entered a similar deal.
The deal also reflects a broader trend of Nigerian indigenous oil companies expanding their footprint across Africa.
For instance, Oando has extended its operations beyond Nigeria, establishing a presence in Angola while exploring opportunities in Ghana and Ivory Coast as part of its regional growth strategy.
