TOGY talks to Samuel Dossou-Aworet, chairman and founder of Petrolin, about the company’s Backbone project, attracting financing and investors, and the foundation of…
READ MOREGabon's Energy Industry
in figures
Oil reserves2 billion barrels
Oil production210,000 bopd
Gas reserves26 bcm
Gas production368 mcm
Gabon: Deepwater Potential
Gabon’s oil and gas industry is older than the country itself. Oil was first discovered near the African nation’s capital of Libreville in 1931 when it was still a French colony. During the 1960s the nation saw a flurry of exploration and production activity, which led to a dramatic increase in production. In 1996, the country saw record production of 365,000 bopd. However, maturing fields and lack of major new finds has led to a significant decrease in output. Nevertheless, Gabon remains in the top five oil producers in Sub-Saharan Africa and a member of OPEC.
The sector is overseen by Gabon’s Ministry of Petroleum and Hydrocarbons, which runs its upstream bid rounds and enforces state policies. In 2011, the country created its own NOC, Gabon Oil, to increase the state’s participation in equity stakes, production earnings and downstream activities. IOCs have been quick to join local operations, particularly in offshore E&P activities, including TotalEnergies, Assala Energy, Perenco and Vaalco Energy.
The government is now looking to attract investment in exploration operations to stabilise its economy, which traditionally accounts for less than 50% of Gabon’s GDP and 75% of the country’s export earnings. Gabon’s deep offshore region has geological formations reminiscent of Brazil’s successful deepwater pre-salt plays. The government harbours hopes of sparking a similar pre-salt boom in Gabon.
“We are driven by one major goal: capturing value in a responsible manner while respecting our values of performance, solidarity, integrity and good governance,” ex-administrator and general director of Gabon Oil told The Energy Year. “Gabon Oil is fully aware of its responsibility to society. It supports the state in the implementation of its social and environmental policies and the protection of vulnerable populations.”
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READ MOREBW Energy has launched production at the Hibiscus South play offshore Gabon just five months after its discovery.
READ MOREGabon Oil Company will buy the Carlyle Group’s Assala Energy Holdings for USD 1.3 billion.
READ MOREPerenco has begun oil production at the offshore Hylia South West play in Gabon, the Anglo-French E&P player announced on…
READ MOREMaurel & Prom has agreed to purchase Gabon-focused oil and gas entity Assala Energy for USD 730 million, the French multinational oil company announced on…
READ MOREOPEC+ has called for further cuts to crude oil production causing a rise in oil futures, the international oil and gas organisation announced on Sunday.
The members…
READ MOREGabon’s Minister of Petroleum and Hydrocarbons, Etienne Dieudonné Ngoubou, has been replaced, the government announced late on Monday.
Minister of Economy Pascal…
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READ MOREBW Offshore will acquire a majority shareholding in the Dassafu production-sharing contract (PSC) area offshore Gabon, the company said on Thursday.
The transaction…
READ MORETalks between Shell and a buyer for its onshore Gabon assets have moved closer to completion.
Shell’s assets in the country, thought to be valued at around USD 700…
READ MORETOGY talks to Pedro Martins, Gabon branch director-general at Yinson – Knock Allan, about the company’s experiences operating a floating production, storage and…
READ MORETOGY talks to Agence Nationale des Infrastructures Numériques et des Fréquences (ANINF) director-general Alex Bernard Bongo Ondimba about Gabon’s digital…
READ MOREVaalco had to shut-in a well at the Avouma platform in the Etame Marin permit offshore Gabon because of a new electrical submersible pump (ESP) failure, the company…
READ MORETOGY talks to Maurel & Prom’s director-general Christophe Blanc about the company’s exploration and production efforts in Gabon. Blanc discusses the 2015 production…
READ MORETOGY talks to Joseph-Denis Antchouey, managing director of OiLibya and president of Groupement des Professionnels du Pétrole (GPP), about the structural challenges and…
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