After withdrawing its membership for over two decades, Gabon wants to rejoin the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC.
Gabon applied and joined OPEC in 1975 and withdrew its membership in 1995 due to the exporter group’s refusal to grant its request for reduced annual contributions in line with the country’s small production.
According to the International Energy Agency, Gabon produces 200,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) and output is in decline.
In 2015, the government launched an offshore licensing round in a bid to boost exploration.
<
blockquote>According to an OPEC delegate, “They sent the request to OPEC officially,” said one of the sources, an OPEC delegate.
If re-admitted back into OPEC, Gabon would be the smallest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and bring its ranks to 14 countries following last year’s return of Indonesia, which had also withdrawn in 2008.
