News

As Gabon advances one of Africa’s most ambitious offshore investment campaigns, African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 – taking place in Cape Town from October 12–16 – will host a country-focused panel discussion exploring the country’s offshore revival. The “Invest in Gabon: The Revival and Expansion of Offshore Oil Production” panel will examine how regulatory reform, improved fiscal terms and renewed international investment are repositioning the country as a premier deepwater exploration destination.

Momentum in Gabon has accelerated throughout 2026, with the country having launched an offshore licensing campaign covering approximately 70% of its available offshore acreage. Gabon has also fast-tracked negotiations to convert MoUs signed with ExxonMobil and bp into production sharing contracts (PSCs) within a three-to-six-month timeframe. The agreements target frontier deepwater and ultra-deepwater acreage that has seen limited historical exploration.

These projects reflect a broader transformation underway across Gabon’s upstream sector. Around 72% of the country’s deepwater and ultra-deepwater sedimentary basin remains unexplored, creating substantial opportunities for new discoveries. Offshore blocks including BC-9 and BCD-10 are estimated to contain recoverable resources of approximately 1.4 billion barrels, highlighting the scale of the remaining exploration potential.

Supporting that opportunity is one of Africa’s most competitive upstream investment frameworks. Gabon is restructuring its 2019 Hydrocarbons Code into separate Petroleum and Gas Codes, allowing fiscal and regulatory terms to better reflect the economics of mature oil production, frontier exploration and gas commercialization. The reforms are designed to provide greater certainty for investors while accelerating project approvals.

Meanwhile, strengthened fiscal incentives have seen signature bonuses being eliminated for deepwater and ultra-deepwater acreage, oil cost recovery ceilings increasing to 70%–75%, while gas projects can recover between 80%–90% of eligible costs. Qualifying PSCs benefit from corporate income tax exemptions, capital gains relief and reduced mandatory state participation through Gabon Oil Company, lowering the state’s carried interest from 20% to 10%.

Boasting an estimated 28 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, gas commercialization is emerging as a parallel growth engine. Perenco is leading the development of the $2 billion Cap Lopez FLNG project to monetize offshore gas while reducing flaring. Meanwhile, the government is supporting domestic industrialization through a 120–150-km pipeline linking Gamba and Libreville as part of its objective to process primary resources domestically by 2029.

The country-focused session at AEW 2026 will also examine Gabon’s operating environment. Following the country’s political transition, the government has prioritized policy continuity and upstream investment, while the sector continues to present relatively low risks of contract instability or resource nationalism.

“Gabon is demonstrating how targeted regulatory reform and competitive fiscal terms can reignite exploration in mature petroleum provinces. With world-class deepwater potential, major international companies returning and significant licensing opportunities available, the country is entering a new phase of upstream growth that will create substantial opportunities across the energy value chain,” says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber.

The “Invest in Gabon: The Revival and Expansion of Offshore Oil Production” panel session reinforces AEW 2026’s role as the premier platform for upstream investment across Africa. The event connects governments, international operators, investors and service companies to accelerate the next generation of offshore oil and gas development.