Gabon Oil Company

Gabon Oil Company is the national oil and gas company of Gabon. It was established by presidential decree in June 2011, restoring a national petroleum-company structure after the dissolution of the Société Nationale Petrolière Gabonaise in 1987. During the intervening period, Gabon relied primarily on international oil companies and other outside investors to develop its petroleum blocks and operate producing fields. The company was created to give the Gabonese state a direct role in the management, marketing and development of its hydrocarbon resources. The company initially concentrated on marketing crude and refined petroleum produced by private operators. Its mandate subsequently expanded to include the management of petroleum rights and direct participation in exploration and production. Gabon’s petroleum resources include onshore fields, shallow-water areas and deep-water exploration blocks. The company’s activities therefore span government participation in upstream projects, acquisition of interests in existing concessions, negotiation of production-sharing and exploration agreements, and support for the state’s wider petroleum-revenue objectives. A significant early turning point came in September 2012, when Addax Petroleum relinquished its lease over the marginal Remboué field. Gabon Oil Company assumed control of the block, making it the first exploration-and-production contract signed by the newly created national company. In 2014, then-director general Serge Toulekima said that Gabon Oil intended to acquire interests in privately held leases. The strategy was intended to increase public revenue while also helping operating partners finance further exploration and production. The company signed its first upstream production contract in October 2016, covering the Mboumba field, where initial production was reported at approximately 1,500 barrels per day. Gabon Oil expanded its participation in offshore development in March 2019 by acquiring a 10 percent interest in the Dussafu block operated by BW Offshore. The transaction involved reimbursement of a share of development and production costs accumulated from April 2017. The company later negotiated additional arrangements with Maurel & Prom concerning the Ezanga block. In November 2021, Maurel & Prom agreed to reimburse Gabon Oil for pre-2018 carrying costs, make a further payment connected with extending the Ezanga lease to 2026, and amend terms of the agreement. Around the same period, the two companies signed exploration and production-sharing agreements covering the Kari and Nyanga-Mayombe blocks, in which Gabon Oil was reported to hold 100 percent interests. Gabon Oil operates in an economy heavily dependent on petroleum exports. Gabon’s crude and refined-oil exports have accounted for a large share of national exports, while the country’s mature producing fields and limited deep-water exploration have created pressure to attract new investment and improve recovery from existing assets. The company has sought to increase the state’s participation in leases and projects, although upstream investments generally take years to generate substantial returns. Under Gabon’s 2020 hydrocarbons law, the state automatically receives a 20 percent interest in petroleum developments, while Gabon Oil may acquire up to an additional 15 percent. The company has also experienced significant governance and leadership challenges. Serge Toulekima resigned in 2015 after refusing to submit to a government-requested financial and technical audit. Christian Patrichi Tanasa Mbadinga became director general in 2018 but was removed in 2021 amid allegations of major financial irregularities reported by Gabonese media. He was later tried before the Special Criminal Court and sentenced in 2022 for embezzlement-related offenses. Geologist Odette Nzaba Makaya was appointed director general in 2021. Publicly available reference material does not establish the company’s current leadership, website or detailed financial performance.

Gabon’s first national petroleum company, the Société Nationale Petrolière Gabonaise, was dissolved in 1987. For more than two decades afterward, the country developed its oil resources largely through foreign and private operators. Companies including Perenco, Shell and TotalEnergies became important producers, while the Gabonese state leased petroleum blocks and relied on outside capital and technical expertise. Gabon Oil Company was created by presidential decree in June 2011 to restore direct national participation in the petroleum sector. Its initial role was to market crude and refined petroleum produced by private companies. The company was also given a legal role in owning and managing onshore and offshore petroleum interests, allowing it to move beyond commercial marketing into exploration, development and production. The company’s first major upstream step followed Addax Petroleum’s September 2012 surrender of the lease over the marginal Remboué field. Gabon Oil assumed control, creating its first exploration-and-production contract. By 2014, the company was publicly considering acquisitions of interests in private leases as a way to increase government revenue and provide capital for field development. This approach reflected the government’s broader effort to participate more directly in a sector that remained central to Gabon’s exports. Gabon’s production declined during the middle of the 2010s, as mature fields faced natural depletion and new exploration had not yet fully replaced lost output. In October 2016, Gabon Oil signed its first upstream contract and began production at the Mboumba field, initially reported at approximately 1,500 barrels per day. The company later expanded its presence in offshore assets. In March 2019, it acquired a 10 percent interest in the Dussafu block operated by BW Offshore and reimbursed its share of relevant development and production costs. By the end of the 2010s, Gabon remained an important sub-Saharan African oil producer, although production rankings varied as output changed across the region. The country possessed substantial proven reserves, but most wells were mature and deep-water exploration remained limited. Gabon Oil conducted multiple lease auctions and sought to increase its participation in petroleum blocks. Because upstream projects require substantial capital and have long development cycles, the company was not expected to generate significant returns from all of its investments immediately. The 2020 hydrocarbons law formalized a larger state role by providing for an automatic 20 percent government interest in petroleum developments, with Gabon Oil permitted to acquire up to an additional 15 percent. In late 2021, the company reached agreements with Maurel & Prom relating to the Ezanga block, including reimbursement for earlier carrying costs, a payment associated with extending the lease to 2026, and amendments to contractual terms. Gabon Oil also signed exploration and production-sharing agreements for the Kari and Nyanga-Mayombe blocks, where it was reported to hold 100 percent interests. Corporate governance has been a recurring issue. Serge Toulekima left the director-general position in 2015 after declining to submit a government-requested financial and technical audit. Arnaud Calixte Engandji Alandji served as an interim replacement, and Christian Patrichi Tanasa Mbadinga became permanent director general around 2018. In 2020, the Gabonese newspaper L’Union reported that more than XAF85 billion had gone missing from the company since 2018 in circumstances attributed to corruption. Tanasa was removed in May 2021, and geologist Odette Nzaba Makaya was appointed director general. In 2022, Tanasa was tried by the Special Criminal Court and sentenced to 12 years in prison for embezzlement-related offenses; his deputy received a 10-year sentence. The company’s long-term role is tied to Gabon’s effort to retain more petroleum value and revenue domestically while attracting external technical and financial partners. Public reference material confirms its state ownership and upstream participation, but does not provide enough information to establish its current management, detailed financial results, corporate website or complete portfolio of operating assets.

• 2022

  Former director general convicted

  [1]Gabon Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Christian Patrichi Tanasa was sentenced by the Special Criminal Court in a case concerning alleged embezzlement and money laundering.

• 2021

  New director general appointed

  [1]Gabon Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Odette Nzaba Makaya became director general after the removal of Christian Patrichi Tanasa Mbadinga.

• 2020

  Hydrocarbons law expands the state’s participation framework

  [1]Gabon Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  A new hydrocarbons law provided for a 20 percent automatic state interest in petroleum developments and allowed Gabon Oil to acquire up to a further 15 percent.

• 2019

  Dussafu participation acquired

  [1]Gabon Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Gabon Oil acquired a 10 percent interest in the Dussafu block operated by BW Offshore.

• 2016

  First upstream contract

  [1]Gabon Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company signed its first upstream production agreement and began production at the Mboumba field.

• 2012

  Remboué field transferred to the company

  [1]Gabon Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  After Addax Petroleum surrendered its lease, Gabon Oil took control of the Remboué field and signed its first exploration-and-production contract.

• 2011

  Gabon Oil Company established

  [1]Gabon Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  A presidential decree created Gabon Oil Company as the country’s national oil and gas company.

• 1987

  Previous national petroleum company dissolved

  [1]Gabon Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Société Nationale Petrolière Gabonaise was disbanded, leaving Gabon without a national petroleum company until 2011.

Gabon’s state-owned national oil and gas company and vehicle for direct government participation in the petroleum sector.

• Upstream petroleum

  Crude oil

  Crude oil is the company’s principal petroleum-related output and commercial focus. Gabon Oil participates in the management, development and production of onshore and offshore oil interests, while also marketing crude produced by private operators. Its portfolio has included direct or state-backed participation in fields and blocks such as Remboué, Mboumba, Dussafu, Ezanga, Kari and Nyanga-Mayombe.

• Petroleum marketing

  Refined petroleum

  The company initially focused on marketing refined petroleum produced by private companies. Available reference material does not identify a consumer-facing branded fuel-station network or a complete product catalogue, so its refined-petroleum activities are best understood as part of its state petroleum-marketing mandate.

• Upstream oil and gas

  Natural gas

  Natural gas falls within the company’s national oil and gas mandate. The available reference material confirms involvement in petroleum resources generally but does not provide a sufficiently detailed description of specific gas fields, processing facilities, sales products or production volumes attributable to Gabon Oil Company.

• 2022

  Special Criminal Court case involving former management

  Former director general Christian Patrichi Tanasa was prosecuted for embezzlement, complicity in embezzlement and money laundering. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while his deputy received 10 years; a third defendant was acquitted.

  Source

• 2020

  Allegations of missing funds

  Gabonese newspaper L’Union reported that more than XAF85 billion had allegedly gone missing from Gabon Oil Company since 2018 in connection with corruption. The available reference identifies the allegation but does not independently establish the full evidentiary record.

  Source

Read more

• 2021

  Expand block participation through Maurel & Prom agreementsStrategy

  Background

  Gabon Oil aimed to increase its interests in petroleum leases and improve future public-sector income.

  Action taken

  The company agreed with Maurel & Prom on Ezanga lease payments and amendments, and signed exploration and production-sharing agreements for the Kari and Nyanga-Mayombe blocks.

  Aftermath

  The agreements broadened Gabon Oil’s contractual portfolio and were reported to give it full interests in the Kari and Nyanga-Mayombe blocks.

  Payments under Ezanga arrangements. US$43 million reimbursement plus US$57 million additional payment (November 2021)

  Source

• 2020

  Implement the state participation model under the hydrocarbons lawStrategy

  Background

  The government sought a formal mechanism to secure public participation in all petroleum developments.

  Action taken

  The law provided for an automatic 20 percent government interest and allowed Gabon Oil to purchase up to an additional 15 percent.

  Aftermath

  The framework strengthened the company’s potential role in future petroleum projects, although the available material does not identify every project in which the option was exercised.

  Source

• 2019

  Acquire a 10 percent interest in DussafuM&A

  Background

  Gabon Oil sought to increase the state’s participation in petroleum developments and gain exposure to offshore production.

  Action taken

  The company acquired a 10 percent interest in the Dussafu block held by BW Offshore and reimbursed its share of development and production costs from April 2017 onward.

  Aftermath

  The transaction expanded Gabon Oil’s direct upstream portfolio, although the available reference does not provide subsequent financial results from the interest.

  Estimated transaction cost. US$28.5 million (March 2019 transaction; amount reported as an estimate)

  Source

• 2011

  Create a national oil companyStrategy

  Background

  Gabon had lacked a national petroleum company since the dissolution of its former state oil company in 1987 and depended heavily on outside operators.

  Action taken

  The government established Gabon Oil Company by presidential decree to manage national petroleum interests and participate directly in the sector.

  Aftermath

  The company initially marketed crude and refined petroleum and later expanded into direct exploration, production and block participation.

  Source

1. 1Gabon Oil Companyen.wikipedia.org