Sierra Leone could soon become a major player in the global oil and gas industry with a staggering thirty (30) billion barrels with a recoverable off-shore oil valued at over US$2.3 trillion.

This revelation comes from oilprice.com, including Foday Msnsaray, Head of the Petroleum Directorate.

Mr. Mansaray says the country is a new frontier for oil exploration, and things are already moving fast. It could be recalled that in May, this year, Sierra Leone began it first treaty seismic survey for a decade, conducted by geo-partners with support from TGS.

The survey is set to unlock valuable insight by October. This status will shape the sixth round of licences where the country may offer up to sixty pff-shore blocks, almost triple the number from the last round.

Ultra-dip blocks would not be part of this offering, but the potential remains massive. In the past, companies like Anadaco and Luck Oil made discoveries, though not yet commercially viable.

Once such discovery, the bigger prospect holds around three billion barrels.

Now, three major global players, including Shell and Petrolbrace, have already secured data from the region in the past eighteen (18) months.

Strategically located between oil-rich Senegal and Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone is positioning herself as the next big energy hot-spot. "We are on the course of something big," said Mansaray, adding that Sierra Leone would be one of the next big and successful stories.