Rich with oil, gas and abundant renewable energy resources, Gabon has embarked on an ambitious energy development agenda with the aim of increasing capacity and scaling up energy security both domestically and across the regional landscape.
Poised to become an energy exporter from 2030 and offering significant opportunities for investors, the country is inviting financiers and project developers to join the growing sector. In this scenario, the African Energy Chamber (AEC) – the voice of the African energy sector – is proud to announce that H.E Oswald Severin Mayounou, Minister of Energy and Hydraulic Resources, the Republic of Gabon will attend and participate at the Invest in African Energy Dubai event, scheduled for March 30 at the Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre.
Aimed at driving investment across Africa’s entire energy value chain, the Invest in African Energy Dubai event will unite African energy policymakers and stakeholders with United Arab Emirates (UAE) and global investors. Through high-level panel discussions, exclusive networking and deal-signings, the Invest in African Energy Dubai event will showcase investment and partnership opportunities within Africa’s burgeoning oil, gas and renewable energy industry including in rapidly growing markets such as Gabon.
For the country, the reception offers the chance for multilateral connections to be made and new players to enter the market, specifically, the country’s promising power market. Currently, the country’s power industry is dominated by bioenergy, with the resource accounting for approximately 94% of supply and consumption. In 2020, 984 GWh of hydropower was generated as well as 2 GWh of solar, and with most of the country’s renewables untapped, there lie significant opportunities for investors across this space.
With almost two-thirds of Gabon’s population having access to electricity, the government is seeking to strengthen its energy mix with renewables including solar, wind and hydropower. The Invest in African Energy Dubai event therefore represents the best platform for H.E Oswald Severin Mayounou and his delegation to meet with UAE renewables investors and developers to discuss and optimize the central African country’s renewables market.
Meanwhile, Gabon, as Africa’s sixth largest holder of oil deposits – estimated at 3.68 billion barrels – and the 8th largest producer with a production capacity averaging 189,000 barrels of oil per day, has vast opportunities for UAE explorers, producers and investors. However, Gabon’s oil production is gradually declining due to natural declines in legacy fields and a lack of adequate investment in upstream activities.
With the country renewing its exploration agenda – with firms such as BW Energy, Assala Upstream Gabon, Assala Gabon SA, Perenco and Sinopec unveiling multi-drilling campaigns to expand reserve portfolio and ramp up production – the Invest in African Energy Dubai event represents the best platform for Gabon, along with various other countries, to meet with UAE oil companies and investors and discuss and sign energy investment, exploration and production deals.
On the gas front, Gabon has also emerged as a leader with the government prioritizing maximizing the development, exploitation and monetization of the country’s 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves to achieve a just and equitable energy transition prioritizing energy security, socioeconomic developments and environmental sustainability at the same time.
While independent energy company Perenco has kickstarted its $1 billion 700,000 ton Liquefied Natural Gas Development and the government has unveiled a series of exploration campaigns and energy cooperation ties including Equatorial Guinea’s Gas Mega Hub, Gabon’s natural gas potential remains untapped and packed with opportunities for UAE and global companies and investors.
In this regard, the Invest in African Energy Dubai event represents the ideal platform for H.E Oswald Severin Mayounou to highlight, discuss and exploit these opportunities to help Gabon achieve energy security and economic stability on the back of gas exploitation, while shaping regional and global energy market growth.
“The Chamber is honored to host H.E Oswald Severin Mayounou together with a Gabonese delegation at the Invest in African Energy Dubai reception where we aim to sign deals which will sustainably revitalize and boost both the country’s energy sector and economic growth. Gabon has set a target to achieve universal energy access by 2035 and we believe the country’s vast yet untapped oil and gas resources have a huge role to play,” states NJ Ayuk, the Executive Chairman of the AEC.