Zambia extends period for investors to bid for oil exploration

By John Chola – 11/08/09

Zambia has extended the period for interested local and international investors to bid for petroleum exploration from this August to November.

A Ministerial Petroleum Committee said that the extension of the bidding process had been necessitated by requests by some international investors interested in petroleum exploration in the country.

The deadline to bid for petroleum exploration had been extended to Friday, November 6, 2009.

Petroleum companies who had already submitted their bids were being allowed to retrieve and refine their documents without incurring any extra costs.

The Ministerial Committee chaired by Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Maxwell Mwale said investors that wanted to submit bids can obtain document from the office of the permanent secretary in his ministry.

Investors can also purchase the data package relating to the bidding process from the Geological Survey Department.
Other details of the bidding process can be accessed by visiting Zambia’s Geological Survey department website.

The results of laboratory analyses from Germany had indicated that there was potential for oil and gas in Zambia’s North Western, Western and Eastern Provinces.

The deadline for bidding process was supposed to expire on 7th August 2009.

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On June 25th 2009 Zambia invited bids from local and international companies for petroleum exploration licensing round for 23 blocks existing in three provinces.

Zambia’s Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development requested bidders to demonstrate a proven ability to raise the necessary funds, assets and machinery.

The bidding companies were also expected to have appropriate equipment, tools and technical expertise to explore, produce, sale and dispose of petroleum in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Zambia demanded that bidding companies purchase a complete data package in English and pay a non-refundable application fee of ten thousand US dollars or Zambian kwacha equivalent per block.

Interested investors had been encouraged to purchase some of the data by email through Zambia’s Geological Survey Department. gsd@zamnet.zm, seismic@coppernet.zm.

Interested investors had initially until 14:30 hours of Friday, 7th August 2009 to purchase and submit their bids to the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development in Zambia.

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