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ENERGY COUNTRY REVIEW Equatorial

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KEYFACTS Energy Country Review

History

Equatorial Guinea (the Republic of Equatorial Guinea) includes a large island (Bioko) in the and a mainland region (Río Muni), bordered by (north) and Gabon (south and east).

Early Baka (pygmy) tribes were overwhelmed by Bantus who evolved into the Fang tribe of Rio Muni and the Bubi tribe of Fernando Po (now Bioko). The island was discovered in 1472 and colonised by but in 1778 it, and the adjacent onshore region were ceded to Spain. Britain used Bioko as a base from 1827 to combat the slave trade until Spanish rule was restored in 1844. Coffee and cocoa plantations on the island were now run by black Fernandinos who settled during British rule.

New land regulations in 1904 favoured Spaniards and the indigenous Bubi were subjugated. Meanwhile France had acquired most of the mainland and a treaty left Spain with just the Rio Muni area. Bioko and Rio Muni were then united in 1926 as the colony of . Nationalist pressures in the region led to independence in 1968 and the new government allied itself with the USSR and Cuba, terrorising the people. A coup in 1979 brought in a new authoritarian leader. Equatorial Guinea’s economy now depends on oil and gas and it is the richest country per capita in Africa with wealth distributed very unevenly.

Oil production began in 1991 north of Bioko from the Alba and then Zafiro fields in the Rio Del Rey Basin, a part of the Niger Delta. In 2000 a series of new finds,

Country Key Facts

Official name: Republic of Equatorial Guinea Population: 1,313,894 (2018) Capital: Type of Government: Republic Area: 28,051 squarekilometers (10,831 square miles) Language: Spanish, French, Portuguese Religion: Roman Catholic, pagan practices Currency: Central African CFA franc Independence (from Spain): 12 October 1968 Calling code: +240 KEYFACTS Energy Country Review Equatorial Guinea

Ministry of Mines south of Bioko island in the Rio Muni basin, partly in Industry and Energy deep waters, began to come onstream. New fields in both shallow and deep waters are planned that will Overseeing Equatorial sustain and eventually increase total production. Guinea’s oil and gas industry, the Ministry of Before 2002 gas production was minimal, with most Mines Industry and Energy flared or re-injected although some Alba gas was is responsible for almost 90 processed into methanol. A new gas-powered electricity percent of the country’s generating facility and an LNG plant started operations revenues. While still in 2007, leading to gas output increasing rapidly. focusing in the promising offshore potential of the Source: GlobalShift country, with new offshore blocks up for direct Geography negotiation, the MMIE has spear-headed the PEGI Equatorial Guinea consists of the mainland territory of 2020 industrialisation plan Río Muni and the islands of Bioko, where the capital is and the country’s Horizon located, and smaller islands of , Elobey Chico, 2020 initiative, developing Elobey Grande) and Annobón. The last is a volcano 350 major projects like the kms into the Atlantic west of Gabon. Bioko Oil Terminal, The Petrochemicals Revolution Río Muni and Bioko are mostly covered in forests of Equatorial Guinea, the including in the central highlands of the island. Mbini Industrial City and the Petroleum Industrial Equatorial Guinea's hydrocarbon production is City of Luba. concentrated offshore its main island of Bioko, which is also home to the capital city, Malabo. Hydrocarbon Ministerio de Minas, production also occurs offshore the country's mainland, Industria y Energia Rio Muni, which is nestled between Cameroon and Carretera de Punta Gabon. Europa, Malabo Republica de Guinea Oil and Gas Equatorial Equatorial Guinea’s ascent to becoming a major African Tel: +(240) 333 093549 producer was rapid. The Alba field came online in 1991, Fax: +(240) 333 093353 followed by the game-changing Zafiro field in 1995. The oil boom was well and truly underway, with production His Excellency H.E Gabriel rising to a peak of 358,000 barrels daily in 2005. Mbaga Obiang Minister of Mines, Industry To bolster the upstream industry and to contribute to the and Energy growing industrial base in the country, Equatorial Guinea has implemented gas utilization projects that include LNG, methanol and CNG. Block R is due to begin natural gas production in 2020 and will support a floating LNG plant. In order to utilize discovered gas reserves east of Bioko Island, a petrochemicals hub called REPEGE is being developed.

Sustained exploration success has been a hallmark of KEYFACTS Energy Country Review Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea’s upstream oil and gas business, with 48 total discoveries and a drilling success rate of 42 percent, almost double the global average.

Production and processing facilities are well established in many parts of the country and seismic data covers large offshore areas. All data will be made available in our data room to interested bidders. The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons now invites oil and gas explorers to bid on a range of prospective acreages, including some unexplored blocks.

Legal Framework

Equatorial Guinea enacted its first Hydrocarbons Law in 1981 (Act No. 7/1981). The Constitution of 1995 (Act No. 1/1995) applied to this earlier law. Petroleum legislation was updated in 2006 with the introduction of the New Hydrocarbons Law (act no. 8/2006), which governs the sector today. In addition to the New Hydrocarbons Law of 2006, companies are subject to the Petroleum Operations Regulation of 2013 and the New Local Content Regulation of 2014, among other directives.

The 2006 Hydrocarbons Law states in Article 1 that all hydrocarbon reservoirs that exist in the surface and subsoil areas of Equatorial Guinea, including its inland waters, territorial waters, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, are the exclusive property of the state and therefore public domain goods. It also establishes a model production sharing contract.

Equatorial Guinea’s hydrocarbons legislation states that contracts may be awarded by means of competitive international public tender or direct negotiation. Exploration periods are set at two initial sub-periods of four or five years, plus a maximum of two one-year extensions. The state is entitled to a carried interest participation of not less than 20 percent. Production sharing contracts are the standard petroleum agreement in place.

KEYFACTS Energy Country Review Equatorial Guinea

Proved oil reserves at 2017 year end (billion bbls) Algeria (12.2) Angola (9.5) Chad (1.5) Congo (brazzaville) (1.6) Egypt (3.3) Equatorial Guinea (1.1) Gabon (2.0) Libya (48.4) Nigeria (37.5) South Sudan (3.5) Sudan (1.5) Tunisia (0.4)

2017 Oil production (thousand bbls per day) Algeria (1540) Angola (1674) Chad (103) Congo (brazzaville) (291) Egypt (660) Equatorial Guinea (199) Gabon (200) Libya (865) Nigeria (1988) South Sudan (109) Sudan (86) Tunisia (63)

Source: BP Statistical Review

KEYFACTS Energy Country Review Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea Deepwater Acreage

NIGERIA

4o00'N

BIOKO

EQUATORIAL GUINEA

Nigeria-Soa Tome Joint Development Zone

Toe Thrust Zone

Proven Oil Zone

40 Kms

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