Zambia’s parliament passed a new law that will lift a suspension of oil exploration in the country, paving way for foreign oil exploration firms to tender for exploration rights in northwestern Zambia.

Under the new Petroleum Exploration and Production law, foreign oil firms would initially be granted exploration licences and would only gain production licences if they made finds big enough to sustain commercial production. 

Zambia plans to invite international oil firms to submit bids for exploration in the area bordering oil-rich Angola, which is confirmed to have oil.

The country imposed the suspension pending the passage of a comprehensive law, and had defined oil blocks to enable foreign firms to tender for areas of their interest.

The new law states that investors would be given two years to start development and production after gaining production licences. Offsets from the contracts include training and job creation for Zambians.

The law grants Zambia’s president powers to repossess land held by influential traditional leaders and award it to foreign investors to conduct oil exploration, in what is seen as a move to remove barriers to oil development.