Deepwater oil platform
Libreville (Reuters) – Gabon has awarded 13 oil and gas blocks to 11 companies as part of a major deepwater licensing round, which the Central African country hopes will boost oil production to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), the oil minister said on Tuesday.
The bidding round, which has been delayed several times, offers a chance for the former OPEC member to reverse a decline in production from a peak of about 370,000 bpd in the 1990s.
“The government is aiming for 500,000 barrels a day of production once these blocks are operational,” Oil Minister Etienne Ngoubou told reporters on Tuesday.
He did not give a figure for current production, although the government earlier this month gave a production forecast of nearly 230,000 bpd for 2014.
British oil and gas explorer Ophir Energy was the biggest winner of the licensing round with four blocks. Exxon Mobil, Eni, Repsol and Marathon were also successful.
Royal Dutch Shell and Total, both significant producers in the former French colony, participated in the round but came away empty-handed.
