In early December 2019, IHS Markit's sources confirmed that two licence agreements had been signed in Ethiopia, one of them still pending for Government's approval. As of November 2019, six blocks in the Afar and Somali basins (see map below) were under negotiations with the British New Age and other unknown companies as applicants.   The best-positioned blocks to be awarded are Block 10 and Block 14 due to their proximity to Poly CGL gas assets in the Somali Basin, and the Adigala Block in the Afar Basin. In January 2017, New Age applied for its previously operated Adigala Block where it had performed seismic operations and planned to drill a prospect. New Age currently operates Block 08 in the Somali basin with 100% interest.  As of late November 2019, the Ethiopian Government offered 23 open blocks in addition to six blocks that were under discussions. An update of the Petroleum Policy was also ready to be approved by the Council of Ministers.
2 licence agreements had been signed in Ethiopia, one of them still pending for Government's approval. As of November 2019, six blocks in the Afar and Somali basins were under negotiations with the British New Age and other unknown companies as applicants.