Gambia to market offshore Blocks A1 and A4; challenges APC to commence arbitration proceedings

Gambia's Justice Minister, Ba Tambadou 

Gambia has recently announced plans to market two offshore oil blocks that it revoked from African Petroleum Corporation.

The two blocks in question are A1 and A4 that were initially licensed to APC by the previous regime of Yaya Jammeh.  The license was twice revoked without public explanation, the last revocation took place few months before the Gambian dictator was defeated in last December's presidential elections.

The new government of Adama Barrow has decided to put the blocks in question back on the market which led to the London meeting which took place earlier this month with prospective investors.  You can find the relevant block post here.

The African Petroleum Corporation has threatened to initiate arbitration before, the latest threat was as recent as August this year.  Given recent developments and reports of promising potentials of FAR's Blocks A2 and A5, their is renewed confidence on display by new government in Banjul to a have a clean break with APC.

At the London meeting, the Justice Minister Mr. Tambadou was quoted by Reuters as saying his government respects APC's choice to initiate arbitrating proceedings but it is his government's right also to market its blocks and that includes A1 and A4, thus calling APC's bluff.   We'll see what APC's next move will be.