Gambia Oil

The ALSF’s support to The Gambia began in July 2017, when a letter of agreement was signed between the ALSF and the Gambian government. The support began with the review of the legal and fiscal framework for petroleum projects in The Gambia, and the revision of The Gambia’s existing model Petroleum Exploration and Production Licensing Agreement (PEPLA), with a view to negotiate petroleum licenses with international oil and gas companies. Following this request, through a competitive procurement process, the ALSF retained the law firm of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP), led by Alex Sarac, supported by Open Oil’s Johnny West, independent technical consultant, Richard Weightman, and Aziz Bensouda of Amie Bensouda & Co. and Yassin Senghore of Senghore Law Practitioners to assist the Government in this Project. Following further consultations, the support was expanded to include the provision of assistance in conducting a competitive bidding process for oil blocks-The Gambia’s first licensing round, which was launched in September 2018, followed by negotiations with the successful bidder. This process came to a successful conclusion with the signing of the license for the A1 block, the terms of which are said to be some of the best in the region.