The governments of Mali and Angola have signed an agreement under which Angolan company, Petro Plus, will prospect for oil in Mali, PANA reported from here.
The Malian minister of Mines, Amadou Cissé, and the president of the Angolan company, Vincent Michel, signed the agreement on Tuesday in Bamako to cover research, exploitation, transportation and refining of liquid or gas hydrocarbons.
The agreement is for the period 2011 to 2016.
The deal relates to blocks 1A and 1B, located in the basin of Taoudénit, in northern Mali.
According to Michel, the Angolan company will create employment for Malians during the ven ture, and provide the Malian Authority of Oil Research (AUREP) with US$ 250,000 a year during the period of exploration and US$ 300,000 a year during the period of exploitation.
The Angolan company also promised to invest 21 billion CFA francs during the four years of research works on block 1A and 25 billion CFA francs for block 1B
