The slump in global oil prices since mid-2014 is taking its toll on Africa’s oil exporters. For instance, Angola has seen its realised and projected export earnings plummet and has been forced to revise down its fiscal revenue and spending plans by around US$14bn in its Budget 2015 proposals compared with estimates tabled in late 2014. Meanwhile, the state-owned oil company (Sonangol) published its preliminary results for 2014 at end-February...

Gabon is the fifth largest liquid fuels producer in Sub-Saharan Africa, although its production is a fraction of that in the region’s two largest producers (Nigeria and Angola). However, recent developments in Gabon are promising and could pave the way for increased foreign investment and rising production levels over the next five years. The Gabonese government finally settled a long-running oil license dispute with Addax (a subsidiary of the...

The discovery of gas condensate in a pre-salt layer earlier this year has raised expectations that Gabon is on the verge of an offshore oil windfall that could offset declining output from mature fields and provide much needed finance to the domestic economy. The government hopes that new discoveries will eventually raise oil production to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) from a projected 230,000 bpd in 2014. In October, Gabon awarded various...

New deep-water oil and gas systems could provide Gabon with a timely boost and help offset declining output from large, mature fields over the coming decade. Exploration in 2013 has resulted in discovery of pre-salt oil and gas systems and raised expectations that the country has substantial pre-salt potential. The government is determined to adopt a more assertive role in extracting value from its natural resources. Over the past few years, it...