Choppy waters ahead for Equatorial Guinea as production declines
Minister of mines, industry and energy, Gabriel Obiang Lima, is taking a hard line with investors amid low oil prices and falling output
Gabriel Obiang Lima is a frustrated man. Equatorial Guinea’s energy minister spoke candidly to PE about what he described as “dilly-dallying” from international oil companies such as ExxonMobil, Marathon, China National Offshore Oil Corporation and Noble Energy, who he said also showed flagrant disregard for his office. The oil-dependent economy looks set to contract through 2020, under pressure from low oil prices and declining production. Obiang Lima said his ministry was disinclined to grant ExxonMobil an extension on the Zafiro deepwater field in Block B where the US major operates with an 80% interest, once it expires in 2023. Production peaked at the field in 2004 at 280,000 barrels p
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
