PetroNor has reached a mutual agreement with the Government of Senegal to suspend the Arbitration related to the Rufisque Offshore Profond and Senegal Offshore Sud Profond licence areas for a period of six months with a view to reaching a satisfactory outcome for all parties. A formal request has been lodged with ICSID to suspend the process.

The agreement to suspend the arbitration follows a period of progressive dialogue between the Company and relevant authorities.

Commenting on the update, Eyas Alhomouz, Chairman of PetroNor E&P Limited, said:
“This is a positive development that matches PetroNor’s strategy adopted since the merger with African Petroleum Corporation to seek an amicable solution in The Gambia and Senegal, refocus our resources and create value for the shareholders. It further highlights a willingness of all parties to discuss reasonable settlement solutions. We thank the relevant authorities in Senegal for their pragmatism in reaching this mutual decision and hope to use this window of suspension to progress our dialogue and reach a firm agreement that benefits both PetroNor and Senegal.”

Background

The Company reserves its rights to 90% operating working interest in the exploration blocks Rufisque Offshore Profond (“ROP”) and Senegal Offshore Sud Profond (“SOSP”) comprising 14,216 km².

Though currently in arbitration with the Government of Senegal to protect its interests in the licenses, the Company has previously purchased 10,000 km of 2D seismic data over its Senegal licences and compiled an extensive regional database. In addition, in May 2012, the Company completed a 3,600 km² 3D seismic acquisition over the SOSP licence block. In the ROP block an existing seismic dataset (2007 vintage) covering 1,800 km² was purchased from Petrosen.

The assessment performed by independent petroleum consultant ERC Equipoise in 2014 and revised in 2015 estimated unrisked mean prospective oil resources of approximately 1,779 MMStb.