Energy
From The Report: Gabon 2012
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Producing approximately 89m barrels in 2011, Gabon is currently the sixth-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa. While oil production has been on a steady decline since peaking in the late 1990s, offshore and deepwater fields remain largely untapped. Given greater industrialisation, growth is expected to occur in electricity generation, with new generators and three new dams currently under construction. A number of challenges remain for the industry in the medium term. These include the country’s new hydrocarbons code, which has yet to be passed (and for which IOCs must wait before they can begin exploration on new fields) and the fact that deepwater exploration and production is an expensive and logistically difficult for the country.

This chapter contains interviews with Etienne Ngoubou, Minister of Petroleum; Serge Toulekima, Managing Director, Gabon Oil Company; and Robert L Gerry, Chairman and CEO, VAALCO Energy.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Exploring the options: Attention turns to deepwater blocks as the wait for the new hydrocarbons code continues
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While oil was first discovered in Gabon in 1953, it was not until the early 1970s that substantial production began. Since then, the exploitation of petroleum reserves has been the dominant generator of revenue for the Gabonese economy, accounting for around 52% of GDP and 58% of government revenues in 2011. DECLINING PRODUCTION: For most of the 1980s and 1990s, Gabon was sub-Saharan Africa’s third-largest oil producer, after Nigeria and Angola. Gabon achieved peak production in 1997, at…

Analysis

Thinking locally: Education and training efforts to boost employment of Gabonese
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In April 2011 a four-day strike by the National Oil Workers Union (l'Organisation Nationale des Employés du Pétrole, ONEP) caused severe disruptions to oil production across Gabon and cost the government an estimated CFA59bn (€88.5m). Total and Shell’s operations were completely shut down and Tullow Oil experienced severe disruptions. After negotiations broke down again in November, the ramifications of a possible strike reverberated around the world. Oil prices rose to over $120 a barrel…

Interview

Meeting demand: OBG talks to Etienne Ngoubou, Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Hydroelectricity
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Interview: Etienne Ngoubou What are the biggest hurdles still remaining to the successful conclusion of the 10th bidding round? ETIENNE NGOUBOU: The government is particularly concerned with good governance for the process of allocation for the deep and very deep offshore blocks in our sedimentary basin. In order to successfully promote these blocks, our country needs to implement a new hydrocarbons code to effectively regulate oil operations as well as to encourage the entry of new multinationals…

Interview

OBG talks to Serge Toulekima, Managing Director, Gabon Oil Company (GOC)
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Interview: Serge Toulekima What has been the government’s role and objectives in establishing the GOC? SERGE TOULEKIMA: GOC is a state oil company, with the Gabonese government as the sole shareholder. The company was created in August 2011 by presidential decree. The company was set up for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons, to market oil and to play an active role in downstream activities as well. We will also be looking at creating partnerships to enter into the transport and distribution…

Analysis

Mixing it up: Striking a balance between hydroelectricity and thermal power in the short and long term
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With its many rivers – including the Ogooué River, the fourth-largest in Africa by volume – Gabon has a total estimated hydroelectricity potential of 6000 MW. Over the past two decades, however, hydropower has declined as the dominant source of electricity in Gabon; no major new dams have been built in more than 30 years, while the demand for power has grown substantially over the same period. Both the government and Société d’Electicité et d’Eau du Gabon (SEEG), a private utility,…

Analysis

Demand driven: Capacity shortages are prompting the need for a new refinery
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Oil refining has a long history in Gabon. Société Raffinage du Gabon (SOGARA) was the first refinery in Central Africa and has been in production for nearly half a century. In recent years, however, SOGARA has struggled with outdated equipment, limited capacity and an output that is not suited to local demand. Gabon’s refinery has not been able to turn a profit since it was required to pay market prices for crude in the early 1990s. Faced with growing demand and a desire to increase exports,…

Analysis

New to the scene: Promising projects are attracting non-traditional investors
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The oil industry has long reflected Gabon’s colonial past, and its close ties with Europe and France in particular. Total was first oil company to begin production in Gabon. Over the years, the French firm has battled back and forth for the distinction of largest producer in the country with Shell, an Anglo-Dutch oil giant. The Italian major ENI also has a long presence in Gabon. Europe and North America also remain the ultimate destination of the majority of Gabon’s oil exports. DEMAND:…

Interview

OBG talks to Robert L Gerry, Chairman and CEO, VAALCO Energy
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Interview:Robert L Gerry To what extent can West and Central African oil and gas contribute to the US energy mix? ROBERT L GERRY: West and Central African crude enjoys a transportation advantage over Middle East crude, which has led to much interest among oil companies in the region and to US foreign policy encouraging diversification of supply. This applies only to oil, not to gas, as the US is undergoing a shift from a net gas importer to exporter due to shale gas. The region should enjoy…

Analysis

Trying to keep pace: Growing demand for power and water necessitates new state investment and an organisational revamp
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Across Libreville, Gabon’s economic and political capital, construction is booming. New apartment projects stand beside office-tower scaffolding. Outside the city centre, ground is being cleared beside the village of Nkok to make way for large industrial projects in the newly inaugurated special economic zone. Inland, mining projects across the country are on the drawing board, as well as a manganese processing plant near Franceville. Gabon is under construction, laying the base for an ambitious…