"Five Unanswered Questions on Exploration of Oil & Gas in Malawi’s Lake and Land"

All of Lake Malawi and part of Malawi’s land including the Shire River Basin have been divided into six blocks for exploration of oil and gas. Between 2012 and 2014, the Government of Malawi issued six petroleum exploration licences…There is no public evidence that this process of awarding licences was done transparently and openly to attract the best and highest bidder.

In November 2014, the Government of Malawi suspended all licences and agreements to “ensure that the Licences that were granted or the Agreements that were signed are for the benefit of the people of Malawi and were done in accordance with all the relevant laws of the country”…Last week, the Minister of Foreign Affairs…disclosed that the President has lifted the ban. It is unclear why this announcement did not come from the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining itself.

In light of this ban being lifted, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Malawi believes that there are a number of unanswered questions relating to oil and gas exploration in Malawi…We support the Government’s intention to use our resources to develop Malawi in a sustainable in a way. However, we are deeply concerned that if we proceed as we are without transparency and the due process of law all Malawians will lose out. [refers to SacOil Holdings, Surestream Petroleum, Pacific Oil, RakGas