The JMA has adopted the open file system of blocks licensing Under this licensing scheme, companies may submit proposals for open areas on a first come first serve basis. Upon receipt of a proposal the Designated Authority will undertake due diligence to verify that the company is technically and financially competent to undertake the work program being proposed.

This will be followed by publication of the intent to allow other interested companies to submit competing proposals within a 90 day period. All proposals received within that time will be evaluated and the selected company will be invited to negotiate a Petroleum Agreement. 

Important points to note

Applicant must be a company in good standing with adequate technical and financial resources to complete the work program. The applicant will need to submit documentation to support these competences. Area applied for must not exceed 10,000 sq km per application.  More acreage may be applied for by the same applicant but under separate agreements.

Government reserves the right not to accept any of the applications received.

• All application guidelines and other documents are available for download on this web site.  Study the documents carefully to ensure that your application meets the requirements as set out therein
• The Designated Authority will acknowledge receipt of your application and keep you informed of progress
• The receipt of the application will be published on the JMA web site once the preliminary assessments are completed and the application is accepted by the evaluation comittee.