Mining, gas and hydrocarbons
Natural gas
Natural gas produced in Gabon is mostly associated with oil. Part of it is sold to fuel the power plants of Libreville and Port-Gentil, the rest being reinjected or flared. Liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas and gas-to-power projects are set to widen its outlets.
- Marketed natural gas production
- +1.2% year on year
- Marketed natural gas production
- +14.1% quarter on quarter
- Natural gas production
- -44.9% year on year
Detailed sources in the key figures below.
Key figures
Natural gas key figures
Marketed natural gas production
+1.2 % year on year
2025
Marketed natural gas production
+14.1 % quarter on quarter
T4 2025
Natural gas production
-44.9 % year on year
T1 2026
70 %
2023
100 %
2023
Capacity of the Cap Lopez LNG project
0.7 million tonnes per year
2026
Mayumba gas power plant (first phase)
21 MW (up to 50 MW in a second phase)
Protocole de 2023
Perenco's natural gas production
more than 50 million cubic feet per day
2023
Batanga LPG plant capacity (second phase)
15,000 tonnes of LPG per year (about 35% of national demand)
2023
Gas flared
0.78 billion m³ (satellite-based estimate)
2025
Flaring intensity
8.96 m³ of gas flared per barrel of oil produced
2025
Statistical series
Natural gas production
477.0 Mm³
2024
Source: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
Natural gas rents
0.3 % of GDP
2021
Source: World Bank
Locations
- Scale
- Nationwide
Source: OCHA / Institut national de cartographie du Gabon (CC BY-IGO)
Trends
Associated gas still underused
Almost all Gabonese gas comes from oil fields. Since 2006, Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon has been the only commercial gas producer: it supplies the Libreville and Port-Gentil power plants, which generate 70% and 100% of the power of these two cities respectively. The rest of the associated gas is reinjected into reservoirs or flared.
According to the Directorate General for the Economy and Fiscal Policy (DGEPF), marketed natural gas production rose 1.2% in 2025, with a strong fourth-quarter rebound (+14.1%) driven by buoyant demand and few technical incidents. According to Gabonmediatime, the first quarter of 2026, however, saw a 44.9% year-on-year drop caused by several surface facility failures and a lack of specialised repair equipment. Output therefore depends heavily on the availability of oil facilities.
New projects
In 2023 Perenco took the investment decision on a 0.7 million tonne per year floating liquefaction unit at the Cap Lopez oil terminal near Port-Gentil, fed by the fields it operates. The project also includes about 20,000 tonnes of butane a year. In 2026 an LNG carrier is being converted into a floating storage unit in Dubai, while part of the work has been awarded to the Port-Gentil shipyard under local content rules.
In the south, a memorandum of understanding signed in May 2023 by the State, Gabon Power Company and Perenco provides for a 21 megawatt (MW) gas-fired plant in Mayumba, expandable to 50 MW, running solely on associated gas delivered through a 32 km pipeline. It is to serve Mayumba, Tchibanga, Mouila and Lambaréné among others, replacing diesel generators and reducing flaring.
Onshore, Maurel & Prom reports that the Mouletsi-2 well on the Etekamba licence demonstrated a production potential of 25 million cubic feet per day, a resource that could help supply the domestic market.
Flaring
According to the World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Tracker, which estimates flared gas volumes from satellite data, Gabon flared about 0.78 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas in 2025, at a flaring intensity of about 8.96 m³ per barrel of oil produced, down from 14.6 m³ per barrel in 2020. This volume has stayed broadly stable since the early 2010s, between 0.7 and 0.9 bcm a year. Reducing this flaring, most of it associated gas with no local outlet, is one of the stated goals behind the Cap Lopez LNG and Mayumba gas-to-power projects.
Oil and gas production
Energy content in terawatt hours
Oil production (energy content) (Gabon) went from 156.92 TWh in 1990 to 131.82 TWh in 2025. The highest value was reached in 1996 (212.25 TWh). Natural gas production (energy content) (Gabon) went from 0.92 TWh in 1990 to 5.17 TWh in 2024. The highest value was reached in 2018 (5.74 TWh).
| Period | Oil production (energy content) (TWh) | Natural gas production (energy content) (TWh) |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 156.92 | 0.92 |
| 1991 | 171.05 | 1.09 |
| 1992 | 168.08 | 1.08 |
| 1993 | 177.04 | 1.08 |
| 1994 | 195.81 | 1.08 |
| 1995 | 206.50 | 1.08 |
| 1996 | 212.25 | 1.08 |
| 1997 | 211.60 | 1.08 |
| 1998 | 195.94 | 1.08 |
| 1999 | 197.42 | 1.08 |
| 2000 | 160.71 | 0.87 |
| 2001 | 152.14 | 0.87 |
| 2002 | 148.66 | 0.98 |
| 2003 | 159.11 | 0.98 |
| 2004 | 158.97 | 1.08 |
| 2005 | 156.98 | 1.08 |
| 2006 | 140.50 | 1.08 |
| 2007 | 142.60 | 0.87 |
| 2008 | 139.50 | 0.87 |
| 2009 | 139.95 | 0.87 |
| 2010 | 135.42 | 0.87 |
| 2011 | 137.21 | 0.76 |
| 2012 | 128.77 | 4.17 |
| 2013 | 123.93 | 3.45 |
| 2014 | 122.47 | 4.55 |
| 2015 | 124.00 | 4.10 |
| 2016 | 128.49 | 4.11 |
| 2017 | 121.99 | 5.28 |
| 2018 | 112.34 | 5.74 |
| 2019 | 126.50 | 5.03 |
| 2020 | 120.78 | 5.44 |
| 2021 | 105.21 | 4.92 |
| 2022 | 110.65 | 5.02 |
| 2023 | 129.62 | 5.02 |
| 2024 | 130.24 | 5.17 |
| 2025 | 131.82 | n/a |
n/a: not available.
Natural gas production
Natural gas production (Gabon) went from 80.0 Mm³ in 2010 to 477.0 Mm³ in 2024. The highest value was reached in 2016 (551.1 Mm³).
| Period | Natural gas production (Mm³) |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 80.0 |
| 2012 | 110.0 |
| 2013 | 380.0 |
| 2014 | 550.0 |
| 2015 | 550.0 |
| 2016 | 551.1 |
| 2017 | 487.0 |
| 2018 | 530.0 |
| 2019 | 464.0 |
| 2020 | 502.0 |
| 2021 | 454.0 |
| 2022 | 463.0 |
| 2023 | 463.0 |
| 2024 | 477.0 |
Natural gas rents
Natural gas rents (Gabon) went from 0.1 % of GDP in 1971 to 0.3 % of GDP in 2021. The highest value was reached in 2014 (0.3 % of GDP).
| Period | Natural gas rents (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 1971 | 0.1 |
| 1972 | 0.1 |
| 1973 | 0.2 |
| 1974 | 0.3 |
| 1975 | 0.1 |
| 1976 | 0.0 |
| 1977 | 0.0 |
| 1978 | 0.0 |
| 1979 | 0.0 |
| 1980 | 0.0 |
| 1981 | 0.0 |
| 1982 | 0.0 |
| 1983 | 0.0 |
| 1984 | 0.0 |
| 1985 | 0.0 |
| 1986 | 0.0 |
| 1987 | 0.0 |
| 1988 | 0.0 |
| 1989 | 0.0 |
| 1990 | 0.0 |
| 1991 | 0.0 |
| 1992 | 0.0 |
| 1993 | 0.0 |
| 1994 | 0.0 |
| 1995 | 0.1 |
| 1996 | 0.0 |
| 1997 | 0.1 |
| 1998 | 0.0 |
| 1999 | 0.0 |
| 2000 | 0.1 |
| 2001 | 0.1 |
| 2002 | 0.1 |
| 2003 | 0.1 |
| 2004 | 0.1 |
| 2005 | 0.0 |
| 2006 | 0.1 |
| 2007 | 0.1 |
| 2008 | 0.1 |
| 2009 | 0.1 |
| 2010 | 0.2 |
| 2011 | 0.2 |
| 2012 | 0.2 |
| 2013 | 0.2 |
| 2014 | 0.3 |
| 2015 | 0.3 |
| 2016 | 0.2 |
| 2017 | 0.2 |
| 2018 | 0.2 |
| 2019 | 0.2 |
| 2020 | 0.2 |
| 2021 | 0.3 |
Main players
Main natural gas players
| Name | Activity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon | Sole commercial gas producer since 2006; supplies power plants; Cap Lopez LNG project | Ogooué-Maritime (Port-Gentil, Cap Lopez) |
| Gabon Power Company | Subsidiary of the Gabonese Strategic Investment Fund; developer of the Mayumba gas power plant | Libreville; project in Mayumba (Nyanga) |
| Maurel & Prom | Appraisal of the Etekamba licence gas potential | Onshore (Etekamba) |
| Société d'énergie et d'eau du Gabon (SEEG) | Power distribution, buyer of gas-fired electricity | Nationwide |
| Dixstone Lower Gulf | Conversion of the floating storage unit for the Cap Lopez project | Dubai (United Arab Emirates) |
| Ministry of Petroleum and Gas | Gas policy, licensing | Libreville |
Source: Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon supports major energy infrastructure project in Gabon (opens in a new tab)
Regulatory framework
Gas exploration and production fall under the hydrocarbons code (Law No. 002/2019 of 16 July 2019), which governs the whole upstream oil and gas sector and contains specific provisions on natural gas use. Since associated gas is produced alongside oil, its use depends on the production sharing contracts of the fields concerned and on specific supply agreements, such as those linking Perenco to the Libreville and Port-Gentil power plants or the 2023 memorandum for Mayumba.
Resident gas companies, like oil companies, are subject to the 2021 CEMAC regulation on foreign exchange rules in the extractive sector. Gas revenue falls within the scope of EITI reports.
Reference texts
-
Hydrocarbons code
Loi n° 002/2019 du 16 juillet 2019 portant réglementation du secteur des hydrocarbures en République gabonaise
-
Regulation on how resident extractive companies apply certain foreign exchange rules
Règlement n° 01/CEMAC/UMAC/CM, fait à Douala le 23 décembre 2021
Opportunities
- Gas-to-power. The shortfall in generation and recurrent load shedding create demand for gas-fired plants, following the model of the Mayumba project that replaces diesel generators.
- Flaring reduction. Gathering, treating and compressing associated gas that is now flared is a precondition for these projects and a way to cut emissions.
- Liquefied petroleum gas and compressed natural gas. Perenco is developing gas-to-industry, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas solutions that can replace imported products.
- LNG exports. The Cap Lopez project is set to make Gabon an exporter of liquefied natural gas.
- Industrial supply. The IMF notes the authorities' intention to process more gas locally, which matters for energy-intensive industrial projects such as metallurgy.
Take the next step
These opportunities translate into concrete formalities: find the ones that apply to your project, or ask the assistant.
Documents
-
Perenco, Mayumba gas-fired power project (press release), PDF format (opens in a new tab)
Perenco
-
Maurel & Prom, 2025 annual results, PDF format (opens in a new tab)
Maurel & Prom
-
DGEPF, sector business cycle note for the fourth quarter of 2025 (in French), PDF format (opens in a new tab)
Direction générale de l'économie et de la politique fiscale
-
Gabon 2023 EITI report, HTML format (opens in a new tab)
ITIE Gabon
-
IMF, 2024 Article IV consultation (Country Report No. 24/144), PDF format (opens in a new tab)
Fonds monétaire international
-
Country commercial guide: oil and gas, HTML format (opens in a new tab)
International Trade Administration
Sources
13 sources cited
Documents and datasets used for this profile.
- Note de conjoncture sectorielle du quatrième trimestre 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Gabon : les industries extractives à la peine au premier trimestre 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon supports major energy infrastructure project in Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Cap Lopez LNG project in Gabon moves closer to completion (opens in a new tab)
- 2025 annual results (opens in a new tab)
- Gabon: 2024 Article IV Consultation, Country Report No. 24/144 (opens in a new tab)
- Gabon Country Commercial Guide: Oil and Gas (opens in a new tab)
- Gabon 2023 EITI Report (opens in a new tab)
- Global Gas Flaring Data (jeu de données 2012-2025, volumes et intensité de torchage par pays) (opens in a new tab)
- Perenco Launches LPG Plant in Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (opens in a new tab) Natural gas production
- World Bank (opens in a new tab) Natural gas rents
- Our World in Data (opens in a new tab) Natural gas production (energy content)
