BISSAU, Aug. 20– Guinea-Bissau’s transitional government has made oil exploration a strategic priority as it seeks to diversify the economy and accelerate development, Minister of Natural Resources Julio Mamadu Balde said Thursday.
In remarks published on the ministry’s official Facebook page, Balde said the country’s economy, which relies heavily on agriculture, particularly cashew production, and fisheries, is not sufficient on its own to generate the pace of growth Guinea-Bissau needs.
“History has shown that relying solely on fisheries and agriculture cannot drive rapid development,” he said, adding that the government has selected Tender Oil & Gas to carry out exploration activities, with work expected to range from seismic data acquisition to drilling.
The minister said oil exploration requires significant investment and carries substantial risks, stressing that the government expects such investments to ultimately deliver concrete results.
Balde noted that Guinea-Bissau lies within the broader MSGBC Basin, which stretches along the Atlantic coast of Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, where major hydrocarbon discoveries have already been made, particularly in Mauritania and Senegal.
He also pointed to what he described as geological similarities between Guinea-Bissau and Guyana, saying the comparison gives the government confidence in the country’s hydrocarbon potential.
Guyana has discovered more than 11 billion barrels of oil-equivalent resources offshore. Guinea-Bissau and neighboring Senegal also jointly manage petroleum and fisheries resources in a common maritime zone through the Agency for Management and Cooperation, or AGC, established under a bilateral agreement signed in 1993. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
