By Antonio Oburu Ondo, Minister of Hydrocarbons and Mineral Growth, Equatorial Guinea
ExxonMobil has concluded its operations in Equatorial Guinea after virtually three a long time, fulfilling its intention, said in 2022, to depart when its licenses expired.
The departure of the American big marks the shut of a major chapter in our Nation’s petroleum historical past — one which introduced us into OPEC membership. It additionally opens a promising new chapter.
ExxonMobil’s Achievements in Equatorial Guinea
ExxonMobil’s presence has accomplished a lot to learn our nation’s economic system and our individuals’s high quality of life.
Mobil Company’s discoveries in Equatorial Guinea within the mid-Nineties, adopted by Exxon’s acquisition of Mobil, resulted in an unprecedented petroleum increase for the nation, with the main impetus for the escalation coming from Exxon’s Zafiro subject.
The increase gave us what Vitality Voice termed “one of many highest charges of gross home product per capita in Africa.” Together with this super development in GDP got here Equatorial Guinea’s 2017 full OPEC membership, fortifying our standing throughout the business.
ExxonMobil’s work right here has additionally helped open Equatorial Guinea for funding from different oil and gasoline majors and unbiased corporations, together with Chevron, Marathon Oil, Kosmos Vitality, Panoro, EG LNG, Africa Oil Company, Trident Vitality, and so forth.
Throughout its tenure in Equatorial Guinea, ExxonMobil emphasised coaching and using native residents for current and future initiatives. It has lengthy targeted on aiding financial development and enhancing high quality of life in nations the place it operates, together with our nation. For instance, ExxonMobil Basis’s Malaria-fighting initiatives, begun in 2000, have supplied funding for analysis, the supply of mattress nets to stop mosquito bites, the administration of antimalarial remedies, and the distribution of fast diagnostic kits. ExxonMobil additionally supported the Grassroots Soccer program, which delivers a malaria prevention and sports activities curriculum in Equatorial Guinea.
Nor has ExxonMobil stopped with serving to people. It has supplied appreciable help for the Bioko Biodiversity Safety Program (BBPP) for greater than 15 years. The BBPP introduced Drexel College and the Nationwide College of Equatorial Guinea collectively as analysis companions to guard our wealth of untamed animal species, from gorillas to chimpanzees, elephants to leopards.
As a part of its BBPP efforts, which embody cultural and studying applications, ExxonMobil additionally funded the creation of the Moka Analysis Middle, the area’s first scientific subject station. This facility educates locals about safeguarding indigenous species and hosts college students and different guests, from researchers to eco-tourists.
Briefly, ExxonMobil leaves a path of optimistic impacts to Equatorial Guinea because it departs, plus inspiration for potential future impacts by new business companions.
Transition of Operations to GEPetrol
The switch of oilfield belongings from Exxon to our nationwide oil firm, GEPetrol, as operator, has been a seamless one, with Exxon seeing to the secure switch for all events involved.
The transition marks the start of a brand new and thrilling period for GEPetrol and Equatorial Guinea. Having held the place of Managing Director of GEPetrol, I can converse from expertise about its capability to develop the nation’s petroleum manufacturing.
So, with development in thoughts, our nationwide oil firm will probably be shifting into a brand new stage of manufacturing and exploration, that shall embody the necessary redevelopment of Zafiro Discipline. As we accomplish that, we’ll be working with independents like Kosmos Vitality, Africa Oil Corp., Panoro Vitality, Trident Vitality, in addition to Chevron and Marathon Oil, EG LNG (liquefied pure gasoline), to construct a world-class hydrocarbon sector.
Not solely will we be offering vitality to fulfill worldwide demand, however we can even be assembly the wants of our personal inhabitants.
The Gasoline Mega Hub and Our New Petroleum Agenda
Equatorial Guinea’s oil and gasoline reserves are of an absolute significance.
To entry, course of, and transport these reserves, we’re prioritizing drilling campaigns and the institution of our offshore Gasoline Mega Hub (GMH). With the GMH, we achieve the flexibility to maneuver our manufacturing to regional and international markets and make use of it for our personal industries and manufacturing.
The hub’s output also can present in-country poverty reduction and local weather enchancment — propelling financial development and offering gas for clear cooking.
The centerpiece of the GMH is Punta Europa Park on Bioko Island, which encompasses a 3.7 million metric tonnes every year (MMtpa) LNG plant and a 1.1 MMtpa methanol plant. Gasoline provide to the park got here from Marathon Oil till 2021, when Noble’s gasoline sources from its Alen subject started supplementing it, adopted by tail gasoline from Marathon Alba subject in 2023.
I’m glad to announce that extra provide is on the best way. In August of this yr, Equatorial Guinea signed a bilateral settlement with Nigeria to collectively assemble the Gulf of Guinea Gasoline Pipeline Undertaking to provide gasoline feedstock to the GMH.
We’ve additionally signed an settlement with Cameroon to collectively develop oil and gasoline fields alongside our shared coastal borders. This settlement, too, goals to provide the GMH and assist elevate Equatorial Guinea’s standing as a regional hub for business infrastructure.
Developments like these underneath our Mega Hub initiative imply that, because the Africa Vitality Chamber has said, “The nation is properly on its solution to turning into a worldwide oil and gasoline hub.”
Zafiro Discipline
As new operator of the extremely potential Zafiro subject, GEPetrol is pursuing plans to extend the sphere’s manufacturing. Growth there may be said to start out on the opening of 2025, with three phases to be executed throughout the yr.
Pivotal to this effort will probably be GEPetrol’s technical providers contracts with third events. The agreements will present providers to onshore help bases; a unit for manufacturing, storage, and offloading. Partaking extra service corporations and monetary establishments to enhance manufacturing on this subject, it’s course of we’re already tackling.
Close to the Zafiro subject, PSCs just lately signed an settlement with Chevron for improvement of earlier ExxonMobil holdings — blocks EG-06 and EG-11 — which can even contribute to reinvigorating our nation’s hydrocarbons business.
Making Funding in Hydrocarbons Enticing
The ministry is placing measures in place to spice up profitability for buyers. A bunch of fiscal reforms which have taken impact this yr embody:
A company earnings tax discount from 35% to 25%
A dividend tax discount from 25% to 10%
Enhanced safety for American buyers by way of improved returns.
We is not going to cease there. We’re dedicated to reviewing our hydrocarbons legal guidelines and laws implement one thing that’s higher and trendy. By designing a world-class fiscal regime, we are able to stabilize the market and appeal to hydrocarbon buyers into the nation.
Our home processing infrastructure is an added attraction for buyers in search of ROI.
As we now have said earlier than, the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Mineral Growth will stay “out there to all buyers, present and potential, with the intention to proceed strengthening confidence within the sector and amongst its actors. This open-door coverage has yielded good outcomes and brought oil and gasoline blocks out of our cabinets. Extra blocks are to be taken out”.
The federal government goes to proceed being a pal and a facilitator of its buyers.
Minister Antonio Oburu Ondo will take part at African Vitality Week: Spend money on African Vitality 2024 – scheduled for 4-8 November in Cape City.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Vitality Chamber.