By Ayomide Otitoju
Equatorial Guinea will officially announce the EG 2026 Licensing Round at African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies, taking place from September 29 to October 3 in Cape Town. The announcement is scheduled for Monday, September 29, during a high-level session titled Equatorial Guinea’s New Exploration Drive, led by Minister of Hydrocarbons and Mining Development, Antonio Oburu Ondo.
The licensing round, set for launch in 2026, forms part of the country’s strategy to accelerate upstream growth, attract new investment, and unlock offshore exploration and production opportunities. To support the initiative, the Ministry has arranged for Meeting Room Pod 4 at CTICC 2, where detailed geological data will be presented to investors on the structure, stratigraphy, and prospectivity of the nation’s offshore basins.
In preparation, the Ministry—working with advisory firm Perceptum and GeoexMCG—has embarked on a reprocessing campaign covering over 9,600 km² in the Rio Muni Basin. The initiative, which applies Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) technology, is designed to enhance imaging quality and de-risk exploration. UK-based Searcher Seismic is also acquiring and reprocessing 2D and 3D seismic data in underexplored areas, providing potential investors with advanced technical datasets.
The announcement comes amid renewed international interest in Equatorial Guinea’s oil and gas sector. Recent developments include ConocoPhillips’ first LNG export from Punta Europa, progress on Trident Energy’s Block G operations, Panoro Energy’s PSC for Block EG-23, Vaalco Energy’s planned development of Block P, and Chevron’s $2 billion investment in Blocks EG-06 and EG-11 alongside GEPetrol.
Equatorial Guinea’s national oil company, GEPetrol, is spearheading upstream transformation through strategic partnerships, deepwater field reactivation, and technical innovation, with the goal of consolidating its role as the country’s premier national operator.
On the regulatory front, the government has revised and is optimizing fiscal and labor regimes to enhance competitiveness. Upcoming petroleum regime reforms are expected to include more favorable fiscal terms, faster cost recovery, and greater profit participation for investors.
“The EG 2026 Licensing Round represents a pivotal milestone to maximize Equatorial Guinea’s offshore and onshore potential,” Minister Ondo stated. “It will attract leading investors, drive exploration, and stimulate sustainable growth. We are committed to offering world-class fiscal and regulatory conditions to support this development.”
