ExxonMobil to reenter Gabon in oil exploration deal: sources

Gabon's oil sector is experiencing a strategic inflection point. ExxonMobil, the American energy supermajor that exited the Central African nation over a decade ago, is negotiating a return to exploration operations—a move that signals renewed confidence in Gabon's hydrocarbon potential and broader shifts in how international operators view West African upstream assets in 2025.

The proposed deal represents a significant reversal for ExxonMobil, which scaled back operations in Gabon during the commodity downturn of 2014–2016. The company's return aligns with a wider industry trend: after years of divestment and ESG-driven portfolio exits, major oil majors are selectively re-engaging in established, lower-risk basins with proven reserves and stable regulatory frameworks. Gabon fits this profile—the country holds proven oil reserves of approximately 2 billion barrels and benefits from decades of production history and existing infrastructure.

Parallel to ExxonMobil's negotiations, Record Resources, a London-listed junior explorer, has repositioned itself as an international oil and gas explorer with explicit focus on Gabon. This dual-track momentum—supermajor re-entry combined with junior operator commitment—suggests market participants view Gabon's exploration upside as undervalued relative to geopolitical and commodity-cycle risks.

## Why is ExxonMobil returning to Gabon now?

The timing reflects three convergent factors. First, oil prices stabilized above $70/barrel in late 2024, improving project economics for exploration and appraisal work. Second, Gabon's government, under President Brice Oligui Nguema since 2023, has signaled commitment to energy sector reform and transparent licensing—critical for attracting capital-intensive deepwater plays. Third, global supply tightness from OPEC+ production caps and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have renewed urgency around spare production capacity in stable jurisdictions.

## What exploration acreage are majors targeting?

Gabon's offshore deepwater blocks—particularly in the Ogooué and Ivindo sub-basins—remain sparsely explored relative to adjacent Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. ExxonMobil's deal likely targets acreage where seismic data suggests trapped hydrocarbons in Cretaceous and Paleocene-aged sequences. The deepwater setting reduces onshore political friction while offering high volumetric upside from single discoveries. Production from any new field would feed into existing export infrastructure, lowering development costs compared to greenfield builds.

## How does this affect African oil investment sentiment?

The ExxonMobil-Gabon story counters the narrative of permanent "energy transition" divestment from Africa. Supermajors have not exited African upstream; they have *reallocated* toward lower-cost, lower-carbon-intensity basins with scale. Gabon qualifies. For investors, this validates a thesis: African oil assets are not stranded assets but cyclically repriced. Operators entering now will own production during a decade when global demand for hydrocarbons remains elevated, particularly in Asia.

Record Resources' repositioning adds retail liquidity risk—junior explorers live-or-die on discovery. However, the junior's pivot signals that equity capital is willing to fund African exploration at a time when traditional debt markets remain cautious. Together, these moves suggest Gabon's oil sector is transitioning from a mature, declining producer (output fell from 250,000 bpd in 2010 to ~200,000 bpd today) into a frontier-cum-core asset for the next commodity cycle.

---