Involved in the Assala deal alongside British Petroleum, with which it has just presented an official financial offer to the authorities, the trader Trafigura could become a partner of choice for our country. And for good reason, after the oil sector where it jostles with its main competitors which are Vitol and Gunvor, the group with 3.1 billion US dollars in net profit in 2021, could very quickly switch to the gas sector. A sector for which he has never hidden his interest.
Proven gas reserves in Gabon are estimated at 29 billion cubic meters. Present in the form of associated gas, this potential was still unexploited until the commissioning of the Perenco Batanga plant. It must be said that around 90% of gas production was reinjected underground or burned for lack of outlets. The plant which will ultimately produce 15,000 tonnes per year of LPG, or around 35% of national consumption, inaugurated by the president of the transition last December, is therefore part of a dynamic of development of this gas sector.
This is good news, since in addition to Perenco and its Batanga factory, other investors are showing growing interest in this sector. This is the case of oil trader Trafigura, which recently presented a financial offer for the purchase of Assala Energy’s assets alongside Gabon Oil Company (GOC). A strategic partner of Gabon through the Gabonese Refining Company (Sogara) and the Gabonese Petroleum Products Storage Company (SGEPP), the Singapore-based company has never hidden its interest in Gabonese gas.
Highly int trafiguraeressed by the gas sector
Under the fallen regime, discussions had already taken place. Moreover, Hadi Hallouche, currently Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Puma Energy at Trafigura, indicated a few years ago that “ we are very passionate about the gas sector. With lower greenhouse gas and sulfur emissions, gas is absolutely the fuel of the transition “. To stay on this term which fits perfectly with the current period that Gabon is going through, the oil trader could therefore, in the event of concluding the deal with GOC on Assala, take advantage of the opportunity to integrate with another partner, this particularly interesting niche. various points of view.
“ Ready to support Gabon which has significant reserves so that it becomes an exporter in the field » as Hadi Hallouche also confirmed, Trafigura, which enjoys good standing with the Gabonese authorities, could therefore prove to be a strategic partner for the green transition and especially the economic transition. Gas being still flared on many oil sites even though it can largely contribute to reducing the energy deficit while creating new value chains, could therefore be a new Source of profit capable of competing with oil and minerals.
Gabon, which has significant reserves, could logically rely on these technical and financial partners to promote extraction and export, thereby avoiding the waste of this resource capable of generating significant revenue for the government thanks to taxes, royalties and production sharing agreements with energy companies. Revenues that can subsequently be used to finance public infrastructure projects, social programs and other much-needed development initiatives.
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