The President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, said that negotiations are on-going with the government of Senegal to reach agreements on the sharing of future oil discoveries believed to exist in the border waters of the two countries.

He disclosed this on Wednesday, 13th January 2020, after a two-day visit to Bissau by the President of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso. Speaking at the press conference, the Guinean President said contrary to the media speculation that he and his Senegalese counterpart, Macky Sall, were negotiating an oil-sharing agreement, he does not need to seek authorisation before signing an agreement on behalf of Guinea-Bissau.

“I want to clarify this matter: I will sign this agreement these days, by the way,” he said.

He said the soon-to-be-signed agreement will have a clause that allocates a higher percentage of sharing, in case of a discovery, to the country where the resource is found.

The current sharing formula is 85% for Senegal and 15% for Guinea-Bissau.