Petroleum Africa
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Wednesday, December 18, 2013
A new oil law will come into play in Gabon in early 2015. The new law will be more transparent and more rigid than the West African country’s previous law. Etienne Ngoubou, Gabon’s oil minister said, “We are committed to a new and transparent direction.”
It was also suggested that companies that do not respect their contractual obligations could have their concessions revoked. The government revoked the Obangue license of Sinopec subsidiary Addax after an alleged breach of contract. Addax has denied the allegations against it and the case went before the International Chamber of Commerce’s arbitration court. In September the court rejected a request by Addax to resume operations on the field. “If other companies don’t respect their obligations, they will also risk losing their contracts,” Ngoubou said.
The new law was expected to be enacted this year but will now take effect on contracts from 2015. No reason was given for the delay and that is making some firms operating in the country nervous. In a Reuters report a source at Total said the new 2015 target date for the law was unsettling, as it left more time for current government thinking to change. “The fact that the government has delayed the publication is making us nervous,” the source said.
Gabon is hoping to see its production, which has been declining, make a turnaround through new exploration and there is hope that recent pre-salt discoveries will aid in that. In October, 13 oil and gas blocks were awarded to 11 companies as part of a major deepwater licensing round.
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