Gabon launches new oil bidding round
Gabon officially launched a 2016 offshore bid round, offering five deep fields targeting a reversal on production slowdown, the country’s petroleum and hydrocarbons minister said
Announcing the bid round at an African Oil Week in Cape Town, Ngoubou said the ministry expected to finalise the bidding by mid-2016. Average oil output dropped in 2013 to the lowest level since 1989 with only 220,276 barrels a day (b/d). Production stagnated at around 240,000 b/d since 2006, following a decline from record production in 1996 of 365,000 b/d. Gabon held its 10th licensing round for production-sharing-contracts in October 2013. Bids for 18 blocks were made, of which 13 were successful, although this was reduced to nine deepwater blocks and ultra-deepwater blocks in July 2014. In September 2014, Gabon’s new hydrocarbons law was published. The new law has been a cause of concern
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
