|
Seychelles Oil
Seychelles depends on imported petroleum to meet its
domestic
power requirements. Following the increase in oil prices
in 1990,
fuel accounted for nearly 8.6 percent of the nation's
import
bill, exclusive of reexports. The possibility of
commercially
exploitable offshore oil led to the granting of
exploration
rights in 1977 to a consortium headed by Amoco Oil
Company. Amoco
later bought out its partners and acquired additional
exploration
rights but ceased drilling in 1986 when all of its test
wells
proved dry.
The government embarked on a new program to interest
oil
companies in exploration in 1985 with technical assistance
from
Norway in preparing feasibility studies. In 1987 the
British
Enterprise Oil Company and the United States Texaco
Corporation,
obtained rights for areas south and west of Mahé. After
completing promising seismic studies, Enterprise announced
plans
to begin drilling in 1995. The Seychelles government
retains
rights to participate in joint development of the
concession if
commercial quantities of oil are found. In August 1990,
Ultramar
Canada, Inc. stated that it had an agreement to search
10,200
square kilometers of seabed northeast of Mahé.
Data as of August 1994
|
