In early September 2018, the Minister of Mines, Industry and Energy of Equatorial Guinea, H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang, reported that his country was planning to launch a new oil and gas exploration bidding round in January 2019. The oil Minister added that he may refuse extensions of existing permits to oil operators unless they collectively invest a minimum of USD 2 Billion in the country. This strong message is in line with the announcement made in late 2016, when the government warned companies to be active with drilling or to hand back their permits.  Obiangâs reaction is certainly linked to stagnant mega-projects like Ophirâs Fortuna FLNG, still a risk since Schlumberger decided to end its participation into OneLNG, due to delayed financing solution. Other oil players in the country include US-giant ExxonMobil, producing almost half of the countryâs oil output from its Zafiro field, Kosmos who not only took over Hessâ producing oil assets Ceiba and Okume but also the surrounding exploration blocks. Marathon still dominates the gas production in the country, from its Alba Complex, representing almost 90% of the total country gas output. Noble recently signed Heads of Agreement regarding Alen gas monetization. And Atlas, which is looking for farm-in partners since years, prior exploration drilling in its permits that expired in April 2018.  The latest licensing round in Equatorial Guinea ended in early April 2017, when seven companies won six exploration blocks offered during the EG Ronda 2016 Licensing Round. Out of 23 companies expressing interest in the licensing round, 12 submitted official bids. Of those, seven companies proceed to negotiations and ultimately signed Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) around late year 2017.
In early September 2018, the Minister of Mines, Industry and Energy of Equatorial Guinea, H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang, reported that his country was planning to launch a new oil and gas exploration bidding round in January 2019. 