Societe Gabonaise de Raffinage (Sogara) director general Pierre Reteno N’Diaye talks to TOGY about the ageing infrastructure’s profitability and its role in…
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.”
Angola is modernising its logistics network in a move to diversify its economy and capitalise on its geographical location.
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 MOREShell is reportedly seeking to shed its onshore Gabon assets, sources said on Friday. The move would mark an end to a continuous presence of more than five decades in…
READ MOREManaging director of The Oil and Gas institute, Marc-Antoine Igondjo, talks to TOGY about the newly developed educational training programme that aims to raise the…
READ MOREUS Ambassador to the Republic of Gabon and the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe Cynthia H. Akuetteh talks to TOGY about the political and economic…
READ MORECharles Tchen, general manager of Independent Petroleum Consultants (IPC), talks to TOGY about Gabon’s gas supplies, investing to recover mature fields, as well as the…
READ MORESerge Tondu, managing director of Banque Commerciale Internationale (BCI), talks to TOGY about low oil prices in the Republic of Congo and how state finances are being…
READ MOREEric Benjaminson, Horizon Client Access senior adviser and former US ambassador to Gabon (2010-2013), speaks to TOGY about the country’s evolving business environment…
READ MOREErik Watremez, partner at EY’s Gabon office, talks to TOGY about Gabonese oil and gas regulations on corporate tax and local content as well as their impact on the…
READ MOREGabon’s Ministry of Petroleum and Hydrocarbons has appointed CGG as a technical consultant to carry out 3D-seismic surveys on 25,000 square kilometres of land, the…
READ MOREWood Group has been awarded a five-year, “multi-million dollar” contract from Shell for work on four oilfields in Gabon, the company said on Tuesday. In the same…
READ MOREWHOSE PLATFORM IS THIS?
ASK US
- Do you have a question for The Energy Year about oil and gas?
- If we know, we’ll tell you.
- If not, we’ll ask the experts in the field.