Friday, March 29, 2024

Barotse Petroleum awarded exploration licence

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Maxwell Mwale

GOVERNMENT has awarded the first petroleum exploration licence to a Zambian company, Barotse Petroleum Company, to explore oil and gas in Western Province.

And two other Zambian companies have successfully gone through to the second bidding round for petroleum exploration. The two are Majeetu, which bid for block 15 in North-Western Province, and Metprosol, block 34 in the Kafue Basin in Southern Province.

Barotse Petroleum Company is among the three Zambian companies which successfully bid for the petroleum blocks.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lusaka on January 14, Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Maxwell Mwale said the company has been given a licence after complying with stipulations in the statutory instrument.

“I now have the pleasure of signing the first licence to the Barotse Petroleum Company, which has fully paid all the fees outlined in the statutory instrument,” Mr Mwale said.

He said Government expects the company to start work now and move into their blocks as soon as the rainy season is over.

Mr Mwale said he is confident that other successful bidders will follow suit to obtain their licences.

He said the exploration companies would submit quarterly reports to his office from which updates will be released on the progress of the work in the mining sector.

Mr Mwale said after the second bidding, the ministry would no longer advertise for seven other oil and gas blocks because this requirement has been abolished.

He said companies interested in applying for Government-reserved blocks should apply through the petroleum technical committee.

Mr Mwale said Government is now developing modalities for oil and gas exploration in reserved blocks which will be completed before the end of March this year.

He said bidders in Western Province should not be distracted by the current confusion in the province because Government will institute measures to protect their interests.

One of the shareholders for Barotse Petroleum Companies, Clement Mundia, said he is happy the company has been given a licence after waiting for two years.

Mr Mundia said this will encourage local companies to take up the challenges of investing in the mining sector.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

35 COMMENTS

  1. Good news. Ba PF, this is an example of how Zambians take part and benefit from the economy. Take a leaf from Mr. Mundia and learn how to benefit from the Zambian economy instead of ranting on blogs 24/7.

  2. OMG,i hope there’ll be no parallels with south sudan as there had been an insurgency there already like we’re having with the current riots and the contentious BA. When oil was then discovered in south sudan it only fueled more fights,divisions, agitation and an economic reason for secession.

  3. why give them on Jan14 not before the fracas? amano yaba PIG kwena? please dont confuse the oil in Angola which actually lies on a totally different latitude than the main Angola country. Cabinda Province should not have been part of Angola and since its near the same latitude as the niger delta, thats why you have some oil. however what we may have in zambia is purely bog marsh-decomposing grass, trees and any bio material in swamps which produces a bit of methane gas. so lets not waste time dreaming about oil. we just need to get hold of the copper, emeralds and other precious metals and turn them into something tangible not ukulota ati OILO

  4. And the black gold, the cold cool tea is the second reason their is Brentwood in mongu, and limulunga; the first is an old but younger problem when compared to the birth place of civilization Africa, it’s called the British crown and the monarch. This is welcome though we are following Ghana’s well planned lead.

  5. I hope these local companies have the capacity to carry out exploration as it is a costly venture and not being used a mere fronts by powerful western interests. We will be watching how the govt is going to provide security for 24hrs 30 days a month to those who will be involved in exploration of oil and gas in Western Province given the current events unfolding there. There might be kidnappings etc the Black Bulls etc. May be those advocating the recognition of Barotse Agreement of 1964 have firm confirmation of the exisitance of oil and gas and ourbrothers and sisters want to benefit alone.

  6. Good but I don’t like the name! Who owns the company? Is it connected to “Manyukunyuku fela” drivers? They could fund a rebellion! Watch out for them! One Zambia One Nation.

  7. # 6.its not so much of coincidence if u been following this gas exploration programe.but probably the issue triggered quicker action/decision making.
    # 7.i dont like the name also…BAROTSE!it stinks.Some how creats impression that its 4 Lozis only!!!

  8. Its good to have local companies being given such kinds of work. Hope you guys will do a good job

    However, in view of what is going on I would implore the owners of the company to find a more neutral sounding name than this Barotse thing. It sounds very separatist

  9. we knew this was all about oil nalishibe they is oil there no wander all these problems please government should handle this very well

  10. Oil when discovered will empower the honest people of Western Province and we hope we shall not have tax resigm that favours the investors at the expense of developing the nation like the case is with Copper.

  11. It is also important right from the beginning to disseminate and emphasize on the correct information to the local communities in western province, in their local languages, on what exactly is going on. i.e. Oil exploration, and NOT Oil extraction. That Oil might be found, or might NOT be found. It might be in sufficient quantities and quality to extract viably or it might NOT be. ‘To be forewarned is to be forearmed’ against people with divisive intensions who might later show up and tell them that their Oil is being taken away, so they should revolt.

  12. It has been long over due and i hope our brothers in barotse will welcome everyone like they have been welcomed in these other provinces,pliz let us not forget what Christ answered the person who asked “who is my neighbor”.This world will come to pass but surely the word of the lord will be forever.May we all pray for our brothers and sisters in western province so that the peace of the lord can be with them

  13. This is good news for our country. Even though some people have expressed reservations on one of the Co.’s name it is a mere concidence that the ugly face of selfishness is now associated with the name. Other wise peace loving Zambians will triumph over these ills.
    Zambians let us unite as we have always been, we should not let Isolated selfish individuals derail the future of our children in Zambia.

  14. #12 Thanx for correcting the spelling. Hope we shall urge our leaders to have the interest of their citizens at heart rather than putting foreigner investors’ interests plus the kick backs they (leaders) get in front.

  15. This Barotseland, Barotseland name should always be carefully scruitinised as we don’t want another southern Sudan. The name is now linked with terrorist separatists.

  16. Yes, as a Lozi myself I can say oil will empower the people of western province. But it MUST be emphasised to my tribesmen that the oil is first of all a NATIONAL resource. We have benefited from resources being extracted in other provinces, no matter what people say about levels of poverty in western province (in fact sometimes this poverty song is exaggerated because I have been to other rural provinces in the country and have seen same levels of poverty). As #15 FROM LYA WITH LOVE says, it is also important that my tribesmen are educated that this is just EXPLORATORY. We don’t know yet if there is oil in western province. Newspaper headlines like these can be misleading to people who do not really understand what is involved. But anyway for the good of Zambia, we all hope oil is there.

  17. It’s good that a Zambian company has been awarded the licence. The chosen name is dodgy though, especially under the current circumstances. It also seems kind of insular and restrictive and implies that it would not be interested in applying for a prospecting licence for any other part of Zambia. What happens if they hear about the possibility of oil deposits in Samfya or Luwingu? Would the company then ignore the opportunity? With a name like that, I seriously doubt whether the residents in those areas would be too welcoming. Anyway, the overriding positive is that Zambians have been given the opportunity for further economic empowerment. I am assuming here that the other shareholders are Zambian and Mr Mundia is not just a token local.

  18. #7 en 10,grow up,BAROTSE PETROLEUM LTD woz formed 2 yrz ago,its has nothn 2 do wit bein lozi or nt,moreover sm shareholderz r nt even lozi,tk a leaf en maybe u cn escape the poverty u continue 2 wallow in!

  19. Zambians and our reasoning!! how blind can one be to start bringing about all these things amidst a francas?? at the so called Capitalist… you should be ashamed of yourself and your shallow reasoning.. you behave like a 15 year old girl in her first relationship and turned and twisted by every lie. why didn’t this come kudala.. whwn you act like this people will know that once they mount pressure, they can get what they want which is currently lying on the shelves in Lsk. this is cheap politicking and every learned and naturally wise person will discern…

  20. #5 CHE GUEVARA i agree with you,there is no oil in zambia,all we need to do is maximize on the benefits we can get from copper and other minerals.when angola has got oil it does not mean we also have.u will continue dreaming, like it was that there is gold in mumbwa,oil in eastern province,the stories died a natural death.all we need to do is get much revenues from copper,emeralds,coal.SO DONT TROUBLE YOURSELVES.

  21. #22 ZED – I agree. This will still not get MMD the votes! Cheap politics. They should have instead faced the reality and deal with the current situation directly. Are we ever going to have a real leader in Zambia??

  22. Thats democracy,pipo’s power,presure on govt makes diamond.So pressure sometimes is necessary especially on leaders who show off to the very pipo they are supposed to serve.Saying iam richer than u ordinary pipo,how can such a person lead to empower pipo out of poverty?he wants to perpetuate poverty on them so that he remains prominent..fo.olish way of thinking.4 thos who are or went to UNZA know that whenever there is a VIVA,next day government will respond in favour of protesting students.Thats y u c demos at UNZA is a sign language the govt understands.Good that zambian co.can be awarded..tho suspicious its a gud step in a right direction by govt to empower locals.Piece pa Z to all friends we can demonstarte to the world that we can rise piecefully.ONE Z,ONE NATION!

  23. Is it possible that the reason the government do not want to sit down with the parties concerned is that they know the strength of available documents and therefore realise that on fair ground they dont have bargaining power? I’m just asking, not making a statement. This discussion must be had and must be allowed to grow positively whichever direction it takes. We must remember that the boundaries we have now were artificially created without regard to already existing kingdoms and ethnic boundaries, oil or no oil. These problems, and problems of tribalism, are a direct consequence of this, fuelled by other human factors. Even in Europe you have separstists who refuse to be governed by the Central government,drawn on ethnic lines. Its an old phenomenon.
    TBC….

  24. I am not saying we should split the country, and I am not saying we should not. I am saying, regardless of who created those boundaries, we are in this together, and we should therefore talk about it, get our facts right and proceed with due respect for each other. There are documents to scrutinise and data to be analyzed intellectually, so that when we disagree again it will be clear that it is not personal but rather an unfortunate historical circumstance which we refuse to allow to get us into killing each other. It sounds very absurd for a Lozi guy to suggest he is going to kill me. He will probably succeed because I will be too busy preparing nshima for him, assuming he’s joking as a tribal cousin.

  25. so this is what is tumfyaling the the barotse freedom movement? ati “soon will have oil so lets not share it with the rest of the country:..I can wait to see the look on their faces when they realise that their waterlogged province is just a wasteland..hahahah

  26. Coming to the actual topic, it is a good idea to give Zambian companies first priority, and as we are all learning and growing at a time in history when un-precedented scenarios are arising, it doea not hurt to support each other and hope for the best instead of constantly being prophets of doom before even giving the chance to something we often have really no idea about as a matter of fact.

  27. #28 i like your last statement. i have always believed that chimbuye is what has kept our tribes in harmony for so long. sad i’m about to lose bragging rights to the fact that zambia has been one of the few countries that has not engaged in ethnic violence. shame on you barotse agreement supporters..

  28. Zambians you really have this nasty hatred for Barotseland. Why don’t we hate New Kasama? Or all those other things? why should a name of a company be an issue? What if the stakeholders are all Lozi, so what? who despises companies owned by all Bembas or Tongas. Do you know guys, we have a serious problem among us. We continue to bury our heads in the sand, but one day, the ugly face of tribalism will come up. Lozis are your brothers and sisters. They too like you have a history- unfortunately, Barotseland is part of that histrory, unless you want to re-write it. SO why can’t we accept the fact that we are all different, in fact very different, but live under the same boarders so we must learn to co-exist.

  29. Howdy very cool blog!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Superb .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds additionally?I’m happy to search out so many helpful info right here in the publish, we want develop more strategies on this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .

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