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Gabon has launched a licensing round to be governed by a revised petroleum code currently under preparation. Oil minister Pascal Houangni Ambouroue told the Africa Oil Week conference in Cape Town on 7 November the round would offer 12 blocks in shallow water and 23 blocks in deep water. Bids are due by 22 April.Roadshows will be held on 5 January in Houston, on 15 January in London and on 19 February in Singapore, and the round will also be promoted at the African Petroleum Producers Organisation Cape VII conference in Malabo on 1-5 April.

Eranove announced on 26 October that it had signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the 73MW Ngoulmendjim and 15MW Dibwangui hydroelectric power projects. Eranove, a developer backed by Emerging Capital Partners, has partnered with state investment fund Fonds Gabonais d’Investissements Stratégiques (FGIS) for the projects and the pair began prequalifying companies to build Ngoulmendjim last month.

Canadian Natural Resources (CNR) has terminated the contract for the Knock Allan floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel three months early as it winds down activity at the Olowi field. Malaysia’s Yinson Holdings said the FPSO contract was entered into on 30 November 2006 for a fixed primary term of ten years, from 1 May 2009 to 30 April 2019.

France’s Eranove Group, in partnership with state investment fund Fonds Gabonais d’Investissements Stratégiques (FGIS), has invited expressions of interest to construct the Ngoulmendjim storage plant. Prequalification bids are sought by 31 October for the design and construction of the project, which will be located on the Komo River, about 125km east of Libreville in the north-western province of Estuaire.The work is divided into three lots, to be awarded under a single engineering procurement and construction contract.

BW Offshore has announced the start of production on 16 September from the Tortue field on the Dussafu licence to the BW Adolo floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The BW Adolo arrived in Gabon in late July and hook-up of mooring systems and installation of risers and umbilicals was completed in September. The FPSO, a converted crude carrier with a production capacity of 40,000 b/d, is installed on the Tortue field, one of five discoveries in the Dussafu licence.

Woodside Energy has described two discoveries offshore southern Gabon as non-commercial because of the water depth and development costs. The Petronas-operated Boudji-1 exploration well drilled in Q1 2018 in the Likuale (F14) Block intersected a 90-metre oil and gas column in high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing pre-salt sands. Petronas announced it as a discovery and said it would spur further growth activities in the region. Boudji-1 was followed by Repsol’s Ivela-1 exploration well in the Luna Muetse (E13) Block, which intersected a 78-metre oil column.

Assala Energy has agreed to buy Total’s 32.9% interest in the mature onshore Rabi-Kounga field for $100m. Assala has operated Rabi-Kounga since November 2017, following its acquisition of Shell’s onshore assets in Gabon.“In the context of oil prices which remain volatile, the sale of our remaining participation in the mature Rabi-Kounga field is in line with Total Gabon’s strategic repositioning which began in 2017, with the objective of strengthening the company’s competitiveness and sustainability,” said Total Gabon president Guy Maurice.

Repsol’s Ivela-1 exploration well in the Luna Muetse (E13) Block intersected a 78-metre gross oil column. Partner Woodside Energy said in its Q1 results on 18 April that assessment was ongoing. Seadrill’s West Capella drillship spudded the well on 28 January in 2,665 metres of water and it was completed during the quarter, drilling to a total depth of 5,487 metres.

Malaysia’s Petronas on 5 March announced a new oil and gas discovery from its Boudji-1 ultra-deep-water exploration well in Block F14 (Likuale) offshore southern Gabon. The well, drilled in water depths of 2,800 metres, encountered 90 metres of gross high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing pre-salt sands, Petronas said. Petronas will now work with the Ministry of Petroleum and Hydrocarbons to assess the discovery and determine the commerciality of the resource volume.

Armed security forces seized control of Société d’Energie et d’Eau du Gabon (Seeg) on 16 February, putting an end to Veolia’s concession contract on the orders of the Water and Energy Ministry. French director-general Antoine Boo has been replaced by a Gabonese, Marcellin Massila Akendengue. Minister Patrick Eyogo Edzang said Gabon wanted to “take back its sovereignty” over the water and power sectors.

BW Energy has launched development drilling on the Tortue oil field on the Dussafu Marin permit with the DTM-2H production well, using the Borr Norve jack-up rig. Partner Panoro Energy said DTM-2H is being drilled as a horizontal well targeting the Dentale D6 reservoir at a depth of 3,140 metres. The well is intended to be completed as a gas lifted, subsea oil production well with a 500-metre horizontal drain.

State investment fund Fonds Gabonais d’Investissements Stratégiques and French investment fund Meridiam have invited expressions of interest by 16 March for the turnkey construction of the Kinguélé Aval hydropower project in the Kango region. The 35MW independent power project will be developed on the Mbéi River, downstream of the existing Kinguélé and Tchimbélé plants, about 85km east of Libreville.

Borr Drilling has accepted a letter of intent from BW Energy Dussafu for a drilling campaign offshore Gabon. The Oslo-listed company said the Norve jack-up would be used to drill and complete two subsea development wells. The programme has an estimated duration of 140-160 days and is scheduled to start in January 2018. The Norve is expected to mobilise from Limbe, Cameroon, in December 2017 to its first drilling location offshore Gabon.

Gabon Oil Company (GOC) has signed an agreement with Russia’s Zarubezhneft for the development of the Mboumba field. Deputy director-general Jean Koumbi Guiyedi said GOC’s financial problems meant it lacked the resources to operate the field on its own. “Our country also needs to monetise its gas and our partnership also goes in this direction. And we will see how to extend this partnership to other fields that also have gas,” Guiyedi said.

Gabon Oil Company has announced a restructuring that will refocus its role on managing the state’s assets and expanding its downstream presence. “The GOC is emerging from a major restructuring,” director-general Arnaud Engandji said following a 28 July board meeting. “We have had to significantly reduce our operating costs and today we can reorient the entity to a new strategy.”Engandji, who was appointed in October 2015 to replace Brice Toulekima, said the parastatal would scale back its ambitions to develop a role in the upstream sector.