Gabon offers improved terms but must rely on independents to maintain activity

Opec’s second smallest producer faces a slow decline in output while it tries to revive international interest in its maturing fields after a planned 35-block licensing round was torpedoed by Covid-19, writes James Gavin

Gabonese crude oil production fell by a further 6% last year, to an average of 195,000 b/d, and the latest Opec figures show the slide accelerated in Q1 2021, when just 181,000 b/d was produced. There was a slight increase, to 185,000 b/d, in April but that still means Gabonese production is down 50% from its 1997 peak of 370,000 b/d.