Africa remains a vital player in global energy markets, with valuable oil and gas deposits across both onshore and offshore fields that supply essential energy resources to power daily life. With such an expansive energy industry across the continent, Perenco, a leading independent global hydrocarbon producer, has been present in Africa for many years, investing in African energy projects in the hope of generating substantial capital expenditure across its operational countries. One of the most prominent countries for Perenco’s current development in Africa is in Gabon, where Perenco Oil and Gas Gabon (POGG) has spent over three decades delivering the country’s energy needs. Its operations across the country remain crucial to energy delivery, with POGG now producing approximately 110,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Gabon.
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The Perenco Group currently operates in 14 countries worldwide, aiming to be a responsible operator focused on enhancing the energy sector and establishing itself as a leading international independent hydrocarbon company. With solutions tailored to meet the needs of its customers and provide vital resources for life, Perenco boasts extensive experience across its global projects. This expertise is brought together by POGG in Gabon to deliver innovative technologies that support the energy transition through projects focused on investing in the future of Gabon’s energy infrastructure. POGG has been vital to Gabon’s energy sector, and since 2006, it has been the sole commercial gas producer providing essential natural gas to power the Libreville and Port-Gentil power plants, providing 70% and 100%, respectively, of the power for each city. Thus, with significant operations in Gabon, which powers major cities with the majority of its power, Perenco are instrumental in the delivery of energy across the country.
Across Gabon, Perenco operates within both onshore and offshore fields, developing various projects set on delivering vital energy resources to Gabon. One of the most significant developments is the Cap Lopez LNG Terminal, which is set on positioning natural gas at the centre of the development’s growth strategy, making the project one of Africa’s most ambitious energy developments. The project spans the existing Cap Lopez Terminal, which was acquired from TotalEnergies by Perenco in 2021, and aims to introduce a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel, which will monetise Gabon’s offshore gas reserves and reduce gas flaring.
The FLNG unit, once built, will deliver a capacity of 700,000 tons of LNG and 15,000 LPG annually, supported by storage infrastructure capable of holding up to 137,000 cubic metres. In May, Dixstone, an affiliate of Perenco, announced that it had signed an engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and integration (EPCCI) agreement with Technomak for the LNG project, featuring the FLNG barge offshore Gabon. The project is part of a $2 billion initiative that aims to serve as a catalyst for energy diversification and broader economic growth in the country.
Thus, the Cap Lopez LNG Terminal project marks a major step towards advancing the offshore module solutions offered across Africa, and it hopes that through the development in Gabon, it can contribute significantly towards global efforts for cleaner energy and a lower carbon footprint. The flagship project will be the first large-scale gas development following the final investment decision (FID) in 2024 and is set to bring greater regional security and industrialisation towards Gabon’s energy sector. Once completed, the Cap Lopez LNG Terminal project is expected to come online in 2026 and begin delivering significant gas resources for the country.
However, Perenco’s exploration of Gabon’s energy sector does not end there, and instead, the company has continued to cement its role as a premier independent hydrocarbon producer operating across Africa’s energy landscape. We saw its continued development in early 2024, when POGG announced the successful start-up production from an appraisal well spudded at the Hylia Southwest Discovery. The drilling exploration took place within the Ntchengue Ocean reservoir (NTO) and revealed substantial oil-bearing columns and reinforced the potential of the lower Madiela carbonate formation just 10km south of the existing Hylia field. Thus, POGG installed a 10km pipeline and a Fololo platform to fast-track the production testing through the Hylia platform facilities. The platform was completed in 2023, equipped with an electrical submersible pump, helping to produce 3000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). As further testing continues to be carried out, it is currently estimated that the NTO and Madiela reservoirs could hold between 20 to 100+ million barrels in place, and so studies continue to be launched across the region for further drilling potential.
Adrien Broche, General Manager of POGG, outlined in the press release announcing the start of production from the Hylia South West Discovery, that “The Hylia South West Discovery is another success in POGG’s ongoing ambitious exploration campaign. It comes only a few months after the Wamba discovery, which is still producing 2000 bopd. More exploration wells are planned to be drilled offshore and onshore in Gabon in the coming months, including at both Wamba and Igonguino. We look forward to further leads being as positive as Hylia South West”. What we can see from Broche’s comments is POGG’s commitment to continually developing the energy infrastructure of Gabon in order to deliver vital resources that position the country as a vital energy producer for Africa.
Across Perenco’s operation in Gabon, there is a real focus on bringing valuable resources to market by investing in the necessary infrastructure to make the most of the country’s energy potential. Through the establishment of the Cap Lopez FLNG facility to the appraisal well drilling at Hylia South West, Perenco continues to expand its footprint across the country’s energy sector, and with more wells and exploration planned, POGG continues to play a significant role in developing the energy resources of Gabon for the future.
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