Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons (MMH), recently met with an industry delegation in Malabo to maintain the engagement with Equatorial Guinea’s oil sector in the light of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and challenging market condition
The minister met with senior representatives of ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil Corp, AMPCO, Noble Energy, Trident Energy, EG LNG and Kosmos Energy, accompanied by Santiago Mba Eneme Nsuga, the CEO of hydrocarbons, director-general of State Companies and director-general of National Content.
Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima thanked all operating companies for their continued support and pandemic interventions, in particular for equipping the Baney Epidemiological Laboratory with the necessary equipment to prevent and reduce coronavirus spread in Equatorial Guinea.
Equally important, the minister received a letter from the industry regarding ongoing concerns over forex regulations imposed by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC). On this occasion, he insisted that mitigating the economic and business impact of the COVID-19 pandemic remained a priority to ensure sector recovery and investments across the value chain.
“The measures we have put in place will support all citizens of Equatorial Guinea, including oil and gas companies operating in the country. Once the difficult times are over, we remain confident that oil and gas operators and all of the people of Equatorial Guinea will be able to work together and get back to work and put the economy back on a growth trajectory,” Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima said.
From the outset of the crisis, the MMH has recognised the need to double efforts to address the ongoing challenges facing the industry and to find new ways of doing business to ensure that Equatorial Guinea remains competitive.
While the Year of Investment 2020 was recently postponed, it has already secured tremendous interests from local and international players, with several projects moving forward, such as the Alan gas monetisation and the modular refinery
“It is important that we plan our recovery efforts hand in hand with the industry so that we can move quickly and efficiently when market conditions stabilise. The recovery of the oil sector and the resumption of major projects under the Year of Investment is what will open up new jobs creation opportunities and create value for our economy and our investors,” concluded Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima.
