Menu

The government of Equatorial Guinea has invited oil and gas companies to participate in the 2016 licensing round for the country's oil and gas blocks.

The announcement was made today by the Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy (MMIE) , at the Africa Oil & Power 2016 conference taking place in Cape Town, South Africa from June 6-7. The MMIE said oil and gas companies with the requisite financial and technical competency should submit their letters of interest and also view the official map of available blocks. The licences map displays all areas of Equatorial Guinea’s territory that are open for bidding in the licensing round also known as EG Ronda 2016.

In a statement released on Monday, the MMIE said a total of 114 discoveries have been made in the country to date, with a drilling success rate of 42 percent. The Central African country is pushing ahead to develop energy infrastructure, including storage, petrochemicals and floating LNG, which will support and incentivize further exploration and production.

“Our nation is a proven profitable home for global oil and gas companies that explore our waters, and now we look forward to meeting potential explorers at roadshow events worldwide in 2016,” said Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Equatorial Guinea's Minister of Mines, Industry and Energy.

The EG Ronda 2016 makes available all acreages not currently operated or under direct negotiation. This comprises 37 blocks in total, 32 of them offshore – including Block A-12, newly relinquished by Marathon Oil, which has hosted multiple oil discoveries. Also open is the former EG-05 block which was once operated by Glencore plc. EG-05 was then split into four prospective offshore licenses which have never been drilled.

The Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy said it will publicize the bidding round at events in London on June 20 during the Africa Assembly; in Singapore on September 20-23; in Istanbul during the World Energy Congress holding on October 9-13; and the last event will be in Houston, Texas in November. The bidding concludes November 30.