Announcement of IDA Assists Mauritania to Attract Investment for Oil Exploration on August 27, 1981

·. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ~ .. ~ . .. \, •World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202} 477-1234 IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 82/4 August 27, 1981 IDA ASSISTS MAURITANIA TO ATTRACT INVESTMENT FOR Oil EXPLORATION Mauritania will be provided with exploration consultants to enable it to 3ttract private foreign investment under a credit of SOR 2.6 million ($3 'lli 11 ion) from the International Development Association (IDA), an affi 1 iate of the World Bank. lt,nited drilling by oil companies has produced interesting results in Mauritania 1 s sedimentary basins. The government's immediate objective is to sign exploration contracts with drilling commitmLnts for as much of the off- shore as possible. One concession exists, and several firm proposals for exploration blocks have been received. Und~r the $3.2 million project, experts will be employed to promote the petroleum potential to oil companies, negotiate exploration contracts, and monitor the activities of operating companies. The IDA credit will also cover • Mauritania 1 s share of a joint study to be undertaken of the sedimentary basin shared with Senegal. Hydrocarbon exploration and supply is the responsibility of the Directorate of Mines and Geology. Preparatory studies of Mauritania's oil potential were carri~d .out under $800,0QO of advance funding by IDA; this funding will be refinanced under the new IDA credit. The IDA credit to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania wi 11 be for a term of 50 years, with 10 years of grace. It will be interest free but wi11 carry a service charge of 3/4 of 1% to cover IDA 1 s administrative costs. The credit will be committed when funds are available. NOTE: IDA credits are denominated in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) which are valued on the basis of a 11 basket 11 of currencies. The U.S. dollar equivalent of the SOR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates existing at the time of negotiation of the credit • •