Gabon’s new oil regime threatened by power vacuum
The west African Opec member has moved fast to revise offshore licencing terms as it makes more blocks available
Gabon has unveiled a new licensing round, along with a set of eye-catching contract terms designed to lure back explorers that largely shunned the country's offshore in the era of low oil prices. But the timing of a new hydrocarbons code that would establish those terms could be delayed by parliamentary hurdles and a presidential power vacuum. The government needs the licensing round, which covers 23 deepwater and 11 shallow water blocks, to be a success if the country is to have a chance of offsetting production declines from existing fields. But it has yet to be presented to parliament and President Ali Bongo Ondimba has been in Saudi Arabia, recovering from an undisclosed illness. The
Also in this section
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
3 March 2026
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in US–Israeli strikes marks the most serious escalation in the region in decades and a bigger potential threat to the oil market than the start of the Russia-Ukraine crisis
2 March 2026
A potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the escalating US-Iran conflict risks disrupting Qatari LNG exports that underpin global gas markets, exposing Asia and other markets to sharp price spikes, cargo shortages and renewed reliance on dirtier fuels
