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SNPC Chief Ominga to Speak at AEW 2026 as Congo Accelerates Gas Expansion
The African Energy chamber (AEC) held high-level meetings in Brazzaville on May 18 with the Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons and the Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC), reinforcing a renewed push to accelerate investment, expand LNG infrastructure and strengthen local operational capacity. Discussions centered on positioning Congo as a premier regional gas hub while transforming SNPC into a more active upstream operator with broader international ambitions.
Against this backdrop, SNPC Director General Maixent Raoul Ominga has been confirmed as a speaker at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026, taking place in Cape Town from October 12–16. His participation comes at a pivotal moment for Congo’s hydrocarbons sector as SNPC advances major gas monetization projects, upstream expansion plans and corporate restructuring aimed at attracting international capital and strategic partnerships.
Under Ominga’s leadership, SNPC has accelerated its transformation from a passive state asset holder into a more operationally focused national oil company. A late-2025 presidential decree expanded and consolidated SNPC’s strategic role within Congo’s energy sector. The company has also launched a five-year digital modernization program designed to improve transparency, auditing and financial oversight.
Operationally, SNPC is expanding aggressively across both upstream oil and gas developments. The company launched a $158 million drilling bond to support onshore campaigns and has assumed operatorship of strategic assets including the Kouakouala field. Ongoing investments across the Nanga I, Zingali II and Le Mayombe II permits are expected to support production growth while helping offset declines at major fields.
Gas monetization remains central to SNPC’s long-term strategy, with Congo LNG delivering its first export cargo to Italy through the Tango FLNG facility. Meanwhile a second FLNG unit is under development to raise national LNG capacity to around 3 million tons per annum. At Banga Kayo, SNPC and partner Wing Wah are advancing flare-reduction projects that convert associated gas into LPG, propane and butane for domestic markets.
The company is also strengthening offshore partnerships to unlock new reserves. Recent agreements with TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy on the Enzombo deepwater block aim to expand exploration activity offshore Pointe-Noire. Separately, TotalEnergies recently confirmed a hydrocarbon discovery at the Moho license, where recoverable resources across the Moho G and Moho F structures are estimated at close to 100 million barrels.
“Ominga’s participation at African Energy Week 2026 comes at a defining moment for Congo’s energy sector as SNPC accelerates its transformation into a stronger, more operationally driven national oil company. AEW will provide a critical platform for SNPC to engage directly with investors, operators and policymakers on the next phase of Congo’s growth strategy,” says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, AEC.
SNPC is targeting longer-term production growth toward 500,000 barrels per day while pursuing new licensing rounds, refinery modernization through its SOCAR partnership and additional FLNG developments designed to position Congo among Africa’s premier gas economies.