Resource information
The Act consists of 66 sections divided into 8 Parts: Preliminary (I); Establishment of Petroleum Resources Unit (II); Petroleum rights (III); Reports on exploration and discovery of petroleum (IV); Petroleum agreements (V); Rights and obligations of contractors and sub-contractors (VI); Miscellaneous (VII); Regulations (VIII).The Petroleum Resources Unit is established under section 3. It shall operate under the authority of the President and shall be headed by a Director-General. The tasks of the Unit shall be to represent the Sierra Leone exclusively in negotiations with interested parties for the exploration, development or production of petroleum, to act on behalf of the State in petroleum agreements and to regulate the petroleum industry in Sierra Leone. Part III regulates rights or ownership in or of exploring, producing and disposing of petroleum. No person, other than the State, shall engage in the exploration, development or production of petroleum except in accordance with a petroleum agreement with the Unit (sect. 7). Any operations undertaken under a petroleum agreement shall be carried out in accordance with such Regulations as may be prescribed and with the best international practices in comparable circumstances relating to the exploration, development or production of petroleum. Part IV concerns notification of petroleum discoveries and other reporting. The contractor shall submit to the Director-General for approval a development plan in respect of any petroleum field to be developed in accordance with the terms of a petroleum agreement and such plan shall take account of any regulations relating to the environment and other petroleum matters as may be prescribed. The Director-General shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all petroleum matters relating to the environment under this Act but shall consult the Director of Environment on all petroleum matters relating to the environment (sect. 26). After the termination of petroleum operations in any area, the contractor shall restore the affected areas and remove all causes of damage or danger to the environment in accordance with provisions of section 62.
Repealed by: Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 2011 (Act No. 7 of 2011). (2011-07-25)