The Gabon government signed a new agreement with the external partners to acquire the British “Tolo Whale” and “SMB Africa”, which specializes in exploration and maintenance of oil installations.
Under the new agreement, the National Oil and Hydrocarbons Corporation in Gabon has become an actual owner of these two companies.
After the end of the agreement signed at the Presidential Palace in the capital, Libreville, the head of the transitional phase, General Press Oli Angima, spoke to a number of students of the military school, and said, “The acquisition of the two companies embodies the concrete expression of our firm desire to enhance economic sovereignty, which is an official commitment to myself for the Gabonese people.”
Tolo Will and SMB Africa are among the most important oil institutions operating in the Gabon state for the past two decades.
The first entered the Gabonese market 26 years ago, producing 12 thousand barrels of oil per day, and the French company has worked since 1998 in the maintenance of oil installations.
This deal is the second acquisition carried out by the new authorities in the oil and energy sector. In February 2024, the National Oil Company acquired the “Asala” energy company after it used the right to pre -emption to sell the company for $ 1.3 billion.
Horizons and discoveries
After acquiring these two companies, the government’s oil production will reach 82 thousand barrels per day, and its technical capabilities in the fields of maintenance and exploration will increase.
The Gabon authorities are working to increase their oil share after they fell to record levels during the recent period.
Last year, the Norwegian BW Energy Company for Oil and Gas Exploration announced a new oil discovery in the Dosavo box off the coast of Gabon, specifically within the scope of the exclusive exploitation area “Roche”, which includes 6 oil fields.
This company said that the new discovery contains huge resources and has high quality, and would achieve a jump for the Gabonese economy.
Gabon currently produces 200 thousand barrels per day of oil, which is classified as light and medium materials, and it constitutes about 80% of its exports, and its reserves are estimated at two billion barrels of crude oil.
Gabon is the second smallest oil producing country in OPEC after Equatorial Guinea, which produced 58,000 barrels per day in 2024.
Gabon’s relationship with OPEC witnessed a lot of tension. She joined her in 1975 but left her in 1995, and returned to her again in July 2016.
Last year, the International Monetary Fund said that the Gabonese economy began to recover from the shocks it suffered during recent periods as a result of local and external factors.
