São Tomé and Príncipe is exploring for oil in two different zones under different jurisdictions.The Joint Development Zone (JDZ) with Nigeria is located in an area of overlapping maritime boundary claims between the two countries.The other area where exploration is taking place is the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in São Tomé’s territorial waters.

The development of the JDZ follows a treaty signed in 2001 with Nigeria. The key provisions of the treaty are: 1) that the JDZ operates independently, governed by a bi-national body and 2) 60% of revenues are allocated to Nigeria and 40% to São Tomé and Príncipe. The treaty is to last for 45 years with review after 30 years. The JDZ started to license  blocks in 2003. In the EEZ, five blocks have been granted for exploration. The JDZ is governed by the Joint Development Authority (JDA) that reports to a Joint Ministerial Council. The EEZ is administered by the Agência Nacional do Petróleo (ANP).

License

The National Petroleum Agency (Agência Nacional do Petróleo - ANP) manages the license granting process on behalf of the government. ANP requests bid proposals for oil contracts through public advertisements placed in the national and international media, including those media typically used in the oil and gas industries. The government may negotiate oil contracts directly with companies when these are considered matters of public interest, and if there is a lack of bid proposals that meet the criteria. The latest EITI Report (2014) notes that the license granting process in São Tomé and Príncipe is transparent and well structured; however, it requires improvement in terms of information disclosure in official sites.