Oligui Nguema wants an oil code that favours Gabonese local content
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on GabonActu
Gabonese President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema received Oil Minister Clotaire Kondja to review progress on drafting the new Oil Code. The text is intended to adapt regulations to deep-water offshore production and give more room to Gabonese companies and skills, notably youth employment, according to GabonActu.
Gabonese President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema received Oil Minister Clotaire Kondja at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday 10 November 2026. The audience focused on progress on the new Oil Code, according to GabonActu. The future text is to give greater weight to local content, that is, the involvement of Gabonese companies in the oil value chain and the use of national skills and services.
The reform aims to adapt regulations to deep and ultra-deep offshore production, which requires major investment and advanced technical expertise. The authorities are seeking a better balance between exploiting resources, the country’s economic interests and opportunities for national operators.
Youth employment was also discussed. The head of state stressed vocational and technical training in order to have Gabonese technicians, engineers and managers. The aim is for nationals to no longer be confined to manual or routine jobs and to gain skilled and senior positions in the oil companies operating in Gabon.
This audience follows Oligui Nguema’s trip to China, where he asked Beijing for help with housing and Gabonese manganese on 6 November. On the same day, Gabon planned to triple its refining capacity by 2030.
