Senegal and Italian oil company Eni have signed a memorandum of understanding to conduct preliminary studies and evaluate the potential of five offshore blocks, the West African country's energy minister said on Tuesday.
The agreement is part of the government's strategy to resume oil and gas exploration and promote its sedimentary basin, according to a statement from energy minister El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf.
Eni will conduct, at its own expense, a program of technical studies and analyses designed to deepen the geological and geophysical understanding of blocks SN01M, SN02M, SN03M, SN07M and SN40M.
The statement said that Senegal's national oil company Petrosen would play a central role in developing the basin.
The minister said last week Senegal was planning to offer 109 oil and gas blocks to local and foreign investors.
(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet, Kirsten Donovan)