Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, H.E Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima has commended oilfield services company Schlumberger and TechnipFMC on their commitment to complying with the country’s local content regulations.
With a mandate that all oil and gas operators in the country cancel all contracts with services companies which refuse to comply with local content policies. The Ministry has commended the services companies for their continued efforts.
“Both Schlumberger and TechnipFMC have a long history of working in our country, and their recent engagement with local companies, a commitment to train, develop and promote our citizens as well as fast tracking a robust workplace nationalization program demonstrates their willingness to ensure that benefits of oil contracts are shared with our citizens,” said H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons. “From the day of the concerns were raised, they immediately engaged the Ministry and worked with us to find solutions. This solution driven approached is commendable and it is my hope that many companies follow suit.”
On Wednesday, the MMH informed oil and gas operators to cancel all contracts with Subsea 7 for refusal to comply with local content regulations.
“I want urge the entire industry to continue with our policy of building a culture of compliance and respect for the rule of law. We will continue to be flexible and will continue working on keeping Equatorial Guinea as the best place for oil companies to operate in the region.”
The National Content Regulation of 2014 requires that all contracts for companies operating in the petroleum sector have local content clauses and provisions for capacity building. The law requires that preferences be given to local and regional companies in the awarding of services agreements and that local shareholders participate in every contract.
