The Madagascan transitional government has decided to revise the oil exploration code, which was first promulgated in 1996.

As the oil sector has been evolving, the oil code has to be amended to cope with the new trend, Mamy Ratovomalala, minister of mines and hydrocarbons under the transitional government, said on Friday.

The amendment of the oil code was scheduled to be completed by the end of the year, he told the media here, adding that "the new petroleum code will allow us to regulate the sector of petroleum research in the island country."

Oil exploration in the Indian Ocean island began in 2004, when the Madagascan National Office of Mines and Strategic Industries signed over a dozen exploration contracts with 16 oil companies, including Exxon, Mobil, Madagascar Northern Petroleum, Varun Petroleum and Madagascar Oil.

Most of the potential oil-rich blocks are in the south and west offshore areas of the island country, where sandstone tar was found out of the land surface.

However, no oil field has been confirmed until now, though there have been reports of heavy oil discovery.

Source:Xinhua