The Ministry of Mines, Ethiopia is to sign a Petroleum Development and Production Sharing Agreement with South West Energy. The agreement will allow the company to prospect for gas and oil reserves in Gambella Regional State, Ethiopia. 
The agreement will be signed by Sinkenesh Ejigu Minister of Mines and Tewodros Ashenafi, Chief Executive Officer and founder of South West at the Head office of the Ministry of Mines.
South West Energy will also be able to develop gas and oil reserves in the exploration area according to the agreement.
The petroleum exploration and development agreement was approved by the Council of Ministers.
South West Energy presented an inquiry to the MoM to undertake exploratory activities in the Gambella Basin in August 2010. The Petroleum Licensing and Administration Department of the MoM reviewed the proposal from SWE and negotiated terms in the absence of other interested parties.
The committee decided to contract with South West after negotiating on production share, royalty payment, signing and production bonuses, training fees, and evaluating the company’s financial status.
The Gambella Basin is the only remaining concession leftover from the Malaysian Petronas Carigali concession. The Malaysian based company halted exploratory works in Ethiopia 2009 after investing 350 million US dollars.
All the concessions, with the exception of the Gambella Basin, were acquired at auction by Petro Trans, a Chinese company based in Hong Kong.
Source: The Reporter
