Central Africa’s upstream attracts IOCs

Recent announcements demonstrate sustained interest in the mature region, especially among independents

Neighbours Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville and Equatorial Guinea form a cluster of long-established oil and gas producing countries in western Central Africa. These nations have never been able to match the sheer output of Nigeria to the north or Angola to the south, and are now all experiencing decline in their respective hydrocarbon sectors. But upstream interest in the wider West African region has returned, particularly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, spurring renewed activity and resulting in a recent spate of developments in the three neighbours. In a ceremony on 25 April, Congo-Brazza­ville’s president, Denis Sassou Nguesso, and Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi laid the foundation stone for Cong