• Government terminates 21 hydrocarbon permits and 21 PSCs

• OMNIS loses four permits; 17 expired titles declared void

• Madagascar Oil remains sole operator with active PSC

Madagascar has formally terminated 21 hydrocarbon exploration and production permits and 21 production-sharing contracts (PSCs) through a series of decrees. The decision was announced in a statement issued after the Council of Ministers meeting held at the Iavoloha Palace on February 5.

The government canceled the PSC signed on August 27, 2015, with U.S.-based CB World Trade Natural Energy Ltd. The contract covered exploration and potential production activities in the Belo Profond Nord area, which includes blocks 1841_5, 1841_6, 1941_1, 1941_2, 1941_3 and 1941_4.

Authorities also withdrew four hydrocarbon exploration and production permits from the Office of National Mines and Strategic Industries (OMNIS), ending the rights attached to them.

Seventeen other permits that had expired were declared void after reaching the end of their validity period. In addition, the state terminated 20 production-sharing contracts signed with international oil companies, although the official statement did not specify the parties involved.

With this move, Madagascar ends the permits and contractual frameworks in force across the affected areas. The official statement did not outline the reasons behind the decision.

A sector “cleanup” cited by local media

Although the government did not formally explain the cancellations, local media outlets, including L’Express de Madagascar, have described the move as part of a broader “cleanup” policy in the oil sector.

In late January 2025, Olivier Herindrainy Rakotomalala, then Minister of Mines and Strategic Resources, presented a plan to restructure the oil sector framework, according to statements reported by Ecofin Agency. The plan came amid limited development of the country’s identified oil potential.

According to those reports, the strategy included canceling oil contracts with companies that had withdrawn from the country, without detailing the timeline or the process for reallocating the blocks. Authorities also mentioned strengthening the upstream legal framework through a new model production-sharing contract.

On January 29, Carl Andriamparany, Minister of Mines and Strategic Resources, addressed the issue during a conference on extractive sector governance co-organized by EITI Madagascar and the Institute of Political Studies of Madagascar.

“As we consider launching a new oil promotion campaign, it is legitimate to clean up all these areas,” Andriamparany said, according to local outlet 2424.mg, referring to the cancellation of expired oil contracts in 2024.

He added that “areas where exploration work was carried out now revert to the state, through OMNIS, and we can therefore seek new partners to carry out these research activities.”

According to the minister, Madagascar Oil SA remains the only operator with an active production-sharing contract, notably covering the Tsimiroro exploration block 3104, where resources are estimated at 1.7 billion barrels of heavy oil.

In 2022, Madagascar Oil announced several heavy fuel oil supply agreements with Malagasy companies in the agribusiness and textile sectors, according to company statements.

Abdel-Latif Boureima