International oil companies are entering frontier basins like Sierra Leone’s through reconnaissance permits, which allow technical evaluation of existing data ahead of a licensing commitment. Eni secured a permit over five offshore blocks in the country in October 2025, and Shell followed at IAE 2026 with an agreement covering 19 blocks and approximately 20,594 km². African independents are also taking positions there, with Nigeria’s Marginal Energy committing more than $225 million to seismic and exploration drilling.

PDSL’s strategy is focused on lowering the risk profile for entry into the country’s offshore. The directorate has upgraded its subsurface data through the reprocessing of older 3D surveys and independent studies of the full basin, and has shortened the upstream approval process to approximately 30 to 40 days. “The objective is to ensure investors are not starting from zero,” Mansaray said at IAE 2026 in April.

IAE 2027 begins on May 11 with its inaugural Business-to-Government Day, a full day of programming built to place African governments and national oil companies directly before the investors, lenders and operators positioned to act on new opportunities. Licensing rounds and upstream farm-ins anchor the day’s agenda, giving regulators preparing new acreage a structured route to international capital.

Sierra Leone’s two agreements at IAE 2026 demonstrated the forum’s capacity to carry frontier licensing through to signature, and Mansaray’s confirmation places the country’s open acreage within the deal-origination program of IAE 2027.

Invest in African Energy (IAE) 2027 takes place May 11–13 in Paris. Organized by Energy Capital & Power, the event convenes African governments, international investors, DFIs, project developers and energy companies for three days of capital allocation, deal-making and government-to-business engagement. For more information, visit www.invest-africa-energy.com. To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.