New law on oil exploration soon

A new law on oil exploration and a separate entity to regulate upstream petroleum activities will be set up soon, a senior minister said.

He said that the Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat will be incorporated into an independent regulatory body to prepare government policy on oil exploration and production. It will also regulate and manage upstream petroleum activities.

The Minister said the government wanted to amend the 2003 law but the legal draftsman recommended that a new law be drafted due to the changes that were needed. The law will incorporate the latest international developments in petroleum resource regulations.