Mining & Trade News

The Ministry of Energy says resumption of oil and gas exploration in the country is awaiting the enactment of a new Law as the Ministry is pushing for finalization of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill for consideration for tabling in parliament.

Government is working on reviewing the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act 2003 to come up with a new Law that is in tandem with current developments.

There is, currently, no hydrocarbon exploration activities in Malawi after foreign mineral exploration companies relinquished their licences several years ago before embarking on any drilling works citing complications regarding the prevalence of Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the Ministry approved the new National Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Policy in 2023.

 In an interview with Mining and Trade Review, Director in the Department of Mines Burnet Msika said the Ministry is pushing to have the new Act in place as a way of ensuring that the policy is effective and efficiently implemented.

Msika said: “Understandably, the Ministry has been and is vehemently pushing for the finalization of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill for consideration for enactment by Parliament, pursuant to the approval of the new National Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Policy in 2023.

“This is to ensure and safeguard effective and efficient implementation of the aforementioned Policy and enhancement of sound governance and regulation of the upstream petroleum sector in the country.”

Malawi has six oil and gas blocks across the country along the geological zone of the Great African Rift Valley system where the foreign exploration investors conducted preliminary exploration.

Government is planning to re-demarcate the blocks, considered very big, into smaller blocks before awarding them to other investors.

The government is also intending to publish a model petroleum sharing agreement to sign with mineral prospecting firms intending to conduct exploration for oil and gas in the country.

Petroleum resource development, if well managed, has the potential to generate revenue through royalties and taxes; contribution to foreign currency reserves; creation of employment; and transfer of new technologies and skills necessary for socio-economic development of the country.

In view of the foregoing, the National Petroleum Exploration and Production Policy (NPEPP) was developed to provide a new policy direction and guidance in the implementation of interventions in the upstream petroleum subsector.

This is necessary in order to spur socio-economic development as aspired for in Government’s overarching development agenda which is espoused in the Malawi 2063.

This Policy is coming at a time of a renewed interest in the development of the upstream petroleum subsector in the country as well as the rest of Great African Rift Valley Region.

Since the first wave of interest in the development of the oil and gas sub sector in 1980s, there has been an evolution that has necessitated the development of the legal and regulatory frameworks.

It is, therefore, imperative that this Policy should go in sync with the development of new practices in the realms of regulations, science and management covering the whole spectrum of petroleum, and reflecting changes in realities from exploration to exploitation.  

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