Equatorial Guinea will this month (November) announce companies who won bids for its 27 oil and gas licences.
The bidding round is reported to have attracted a high level of interest, especially among Chinese oil and gas companies following a roadshow in Beijing.
Hon Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines, Industry & Energy, Equatorial Guinea said:
“We have many companies who have expressed an interest. ”We have pre-selected some of these because we see the most serious companies, but the important thing is that the key blocks have already attracted interest.”
”Equatorial Guinea is already home to several majors including ExxonMobil. Kosmos, Marathon and Noble and hopes to attract several more in this latest round.
“We are doing well, and we are delivering great revenue,” Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima adds. “But the issue here is what we are going to do in the future. ”Two of the fields are mature fields and we need to decide about them going forward. ”That revenue has allowed us to carry out investment in our infrastructure, but we are still keen on bringing in more companies.”
”This year has been the Year of Energy 2019 in Equatorial Guinea, that saw several high-level investment conferences and roadshows in Malabo and internationally, and they are following that up next year with the Year of Investment 2020.
“It has been very successful,” the minister explains. “A lot of people have heard more about what to do and we have been able to promote more content.
”We have also been able to prepare ourselves for the next year, 2020, which is going to be the investment year. We are looking to build refineries which will be the next stage of our development.”
”Two of the challenges that often curtail investment in Africa are stringent local content rules and a regulatory framework that can be fluid.
”For Equatorial Guinea, the subject of local content is not an issue according to Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima. “We have a limited population so local content have been mainly focused on a specialised sector such as the service industry,” he explains.
“In general, I can say that more than 90% of the companies have done a very good job regarding local content that we’re happy with.”
”As for the regulatory regime, Equatorial Guinea are going to be working next year on the new law. “We believe that our national companies will work more efficiently if, rather than having regular responsibility from a minister, it will be controlled by a law.”
”Equatorial Guinea and Uganda were amongst almost forty ministerial delegations in attendance at the symposium.
”It was a fertile breeding ground for the movers and shakers of the industry and amidst the presentations, cocktails and networking, new deals and partnerships were being forged that could bear fruition over the coming months.’
