Assala Gabon Latest10 May 2024 12:39
Looks like the funding is still proving difficult to close article from africa intelligence below:
I believe the vitol exclusivity period is until the end of May, so clearly there seems to be sticking points if they are still unable to agree with vitol, vitol as ever can provide funding but i am sure they have their limit as to concessions they are willing to offer no oil trader would sign a bad deal for them so not sure whether Gunvor or Trafigura would offer anything different to what vitol is offering
GOC changes advisers in quest to buy out Carlyle assets
The state-owned Gabon Oil Co recently reviewed its strategy to give itself a better chance of financing the pre-emption of the US investment firm's assets.
Gabon Oil Co (GOC) has changed its advisers as it searches for funds to acquire Carlyle's oil assets in the country, which are operated by Assala Energy, The Paris branch of US law firm Norton Rose Fulbright is now handling the legal side of the highly sensitive matter.
Norton Rose in the past regularly represented the son of former president Ali Bongo, Noureddin Bongo, who has been in prison since a coup last August led by General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema (AI, 19/01/23). Until April, GOC worked mainly with the Paris offshoot of the US law firm Baker McKenzie.
But on the banking aspects of the Carlyle-Assala takeover, GOC continues to use the advisory bank Africa Bright, one of whose new executives is Emmanuel Leroueil, who worked as an economic and financial adviser to the Gabonese president's office from 2019 till last October.
Leroueil was a director of GOC until last October. The Franco-Rwandan, a graduate of Sciences-Po in Paris, managed negotiations with oil operators in Gabon from 2022 until last year's coup. Prior to the coup, he had taken on increasing responsibility at the presidential palace in Libreville (AI, 07/12/22).
Exclusivity agreement
Gabon's junta leader said in November that he wanted to nationalise the assets of Carlyle, which produce 45,000 barrels a day, rendering null and void a sales agreement signed six months earlier with Maurel & Prom of the Pertamina group.
GOC signed an exclusivity agreement earlier this year with Vitol to negotiate the terms of raising funds in exchange for marketing the crude generated by these licences, which will remain in Shell's hands until 2017 (AI, 09/04/24). But the exclusivity period will come to an end in a few weeks' time and other commodity traders, such as Gunvor and Trafigura, are keeping a close eye on the deal.
GOC managing director Marcellin Simba Ngabi is under pressure to find the billion dollars needed for the state's pre-emption. If the compromise with Vitol fails and Gunvor or Trafigura cannot raise the money, there will be few other options.