Republic of Congo’s Upcoming Gas Policies to Create Investment Security, Says African Energy Week (AEW) 2024 Country Spotlight

The Republic of Congo (ROC) is preparing a new Gas Code to incentivize investment across the natural gas value chain. Concurrently, the country is preparing to launch its Gas Master Plan (GMP), serving as a roadmap for investing in the ROC’s gas sector. These policies mark a pivotal step towards rolling out the requisite infrastructure to stimulate industrialization and economic growth.

Speaking at the Invest in Congo Energies country spotlight at African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2024, Maixent Raoul Ominga, Managing Director of the ROC’s national oil company Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC), said that “the GMP creates a framework for all those interested in investing in gas in ROC.”

In addition to the GMP, Ominga outlined how the country’s upcoming Gas Code serves as a “mechanism to ensure that the energy industry has become attractive. The code allows partners to invest and generate returns from exploration.”

As the NOC, the SNPC has played a central role in driving oil and gas projects forward. The company strives to boost infrastructure development with the aim of driving long-term and sustainable economic growth.

According to Abdullahi Bashir, Haske, Group Managing Director, AA&R Investment, “We have not even scratched the surface in terms of the ROC’s potential. The government has done a great job to ensure there is a structured environment for companies to do business. The SNPC and regulator work hand-in-hand to ensure everything is done in a timely and efficient manner. There is an aggressive push to make sure hydrocarbons are developed quickly.”

With its significant resource base, forward-looking approach to policy implementation and commitment to low-carbon oil and gas, the ROC has emerged as a highly-attractive investment market. The country offers a wealth of opportunity for new players, and companies are already joining the market. Trident Energy, for example, entered the ROC in 2024 with the acquisition of Chevron’s ROC assets.

“Trident Energy signed PSAs to enter the ROC earlier this year and we are about to close these. We are happy to invest in the ROC. We are very confident that we can develop our business model in ROC. Our model is to take over mid-life assets and invest specific technologies to redevelop these assets and increase production,” said Eric Descourtieux, CFO, Trident Energy.

Additionally, the country’s regulatory landscape and industry outlook is incentivizing new players to join the market. Gerd Nji, CEO, Kariya Energy, said that “We have looked at the ROC extensively over the last two years, and there are so many things that attract us to invest in the market. Oil and gas infrastructure is key as this encourages new investments. The government also has a mandate to increase production to potentially 500,000 BPD. This is a good incentive.”

Going forward, the country aims to attract fresh investment across the growing oil and gas value chain. With the GMP and Gas Code, the ROC’s fiscal and regulatory environment has become increasingly more transparent, while making it simpler for companies to invest.

Yves Ollivier, Managing Director, CLG Congo, says “The Gas Code is in preparation, providing the legal and tax provisions for the industry. This is more beneficial [than previous regulation] and outlines permits, legal and tax provisions.”

The country’s gas policies also allow existing operators and service providers to strengthen their footprint across the market. Both SLB and Halliburton, for example, already have a strong presence in the market. Antoine Berel, Managing Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, Halliburton, explains that “we collaborate to maximize asset value across operations. Driving productivity is at the core of our operations. One of the key enablers we have is the digitalization of our workflow and automation of our processes.”

Meanwhile, Yannick Mouamba, Country Director, Congo and Gabon, SLB, shared that “When it comes to ROC, we have a strong track record, where we help our customer develop fields. In the ROC there is fiscal attractiveness. There are a lot of new operators coming to the game, offering the potential for the country to increase production.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.